Handheld or head-mounted? An experimental comparison of the potential of augmented reality for animal phobia treatment using smartphone and HoloLens 2

Exposure therapy is an effective treatment for specific phobia that could be further enhanced through Augmented Reality, a novel technology that can facilitate implementation of gradual exposure and promote treatment acceptability. Effective exposure interventions require stimuli evoking high levels of anxiety. Therefore, it is important to ascertain whether animals can induce anxiety in distinct Augmented Reality modalities, such as Head-Mounted Displays and smartphones, which can differ in user experience and technological embodiment. This study compared the anxiety inducing potential and experienced realism of a spider within the HoloLens 2 Augmented Reality headset and an Augmented Reality smartphone application. Sixty-five participants were exposed to a virtual spider in a 5-step Behavioral Approach Task through both the HoloLens 2 head-mounted display and the PHOBOS Augmented Reality smartphone application. Participants reported Subjective Units of Distress at each step and physiological arousal was measured using heart rate and Skin Conductance. Results show that both technological modalities induced self-reported anxiety for spiders in a Behavioral Approach Task task in a non-clinical sample. The Hololens 2 modality was also related to an skin conductance (SC) increase. Perceived realism did not differ between modalities but was associated with increased anxiety in the HoloLens 2 modality. Findings demonstrate that both implemented modalities have potential for enabling Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy, although the role of experienced realism merits additional investigation. Future research should assess the effectiveness of Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy in clinical samples and assess whether new extended reality modalities, such as passthrough virtual reality, could accommodate observed limitations and improve Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy experiences and outcomes

Presence, cybersickness, anxiety and heart rate variability in a non-clinical population using virtual reality environments designed for specific phobias' treatment

El estudio evalúa la sensación de presencia, malestar por simulador y respuesta de ansiedad en sujetos de población general que fueron expuestos a 3 entornos virtuales diseñados para el abordaje de fobias. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 37 argentinos (15 varones, 22 mujeres) de entre 20 y 40 años. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron el cuestionario Igroup de presencia, el cuestionario de Simulator Sickness, el STAI y un holter para la variabilidad de la frecuencia cardíaca. Todos los entornos generaron suficiente sensación de presencia. Sólo el escenario Montacarga generó malestar de simulador. Los entornos Departamento y Arañas no provocaron ansiedad en esta población. El entorno Montacarga registró un incremento en la ansiedad estado reportada. Una posible hipótesis es que la ansiedad responda al movimiento simulado en el entorno virtual ya que en los otros entornos los sujetos permanecen estáticos. En relación al conflicto sensorial, deberían realizarse estudios en que se elimine el movimiento y se exponga a los sujetos a diferentes alturas de manera estática. Así mismo se sugieren futuros estudios ampliando la muestra y estudiar población clínica para comparar resultados.The current study assesses the sense of presence, cybersickness and anxiety responses in subjects of general population who were exposed to 3 virtual environments designed to treat phobias. The sample consisted in 37 Argentine participants (15 male, 22 female) between ages 20 and 40. Instruments utilized were the Igroup Presence Questionnaire, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, STAI and a holter for heart rate variability. All virtual environments generated sufficient feeling of presence. Cybersickness was only registered in the Elevator scenario. The Apartment and Spiders environments have shown not to be anxiety triggers within this population. As for Elevator, an increase in the level of state anxiety was generated. A possible hypothesis to account for this fact might be that reported anxiety responds to movement simulated in the virtual scenario while on the other two the subjects remained static. Regarding sensory conflict, a follow up study in the Elevator environment should be done, eliminating movement and exposing subjects to the stimuli while static at different heights. Future studies should consider broadening the size of the sample and studying clinical population to compare results.Fil: Distefano, María José. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: Labandeira, Lucas Patricio. Universidad del Salvador; ArgentinaFil: Tarnogol, Fernando Miguel. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: Mesurado, Maria Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicología Matemática y Experimental Dr. Horacio J. A. Rimoldi; Argentin