Neutral Virtual Reality Research Articles

Attentional Bias, Pupillometry, and Spontaneous Blink Rate: Eye Characteristic Assessment Within a Translatable Nicotine Cue Virtual Reality Paradigm.

Incentive salience processes are important for the development and maintenance of addiction. Eye characteristics such as gaze fixation time, pupil diameter, and spontaneous eyeblink rate (EBR) are theorized to reflect incentive salience and may serve as useful biomarkers. However, conventional cue exposure paradigms have limitations that may impede accurate assessment of these markers. This study sought to evaluate the validity of these eye-tracking metrics as indicators of incentive salience within a virtual reality (VR) environment replicating real-world situations of nicotine and tobacco product (NTP) use. NTP users from the community were recruited and grouped by NTP use patterns: nondaily (n=33) and daily (n=75) use. Participants underwent the NTP cue VR paradigm and completed measures of nicotine craving, NTP use history, and VR-related assessments. Eye-gaze fixation time (attentional bias) and pupillometry in response to NTP versus control cues and EBR during the active and neutral VR scenes were recorded and analyzed using ANOVA and analysis of covariance models. Greater subjective craving, as measured by the Tobacco Craving Questionnaire-Short Form, following active versus neutral scenes was observed (F1,106=47.95; P<.001). Greater mean eye-gaze fixation time (F1,106=48.34; P<.001) and pupil diameter (F1,102=5.99; P=.02) in response to NTP versus control cues were also detected. Evidence of NTP use group effects was observed in fixation time and pupillometry analyses, as well as correlations between these metrics, NTP use history, and nicotine craving. No significant associations were observed with EBR. This study provides additional evidence for attentional bias, as measured via eye-gaze fixation time, and pupillometry as useful biomarkers of incentive salience, and partially supports theories suggesting that incentive salience diminishes as nicotine dependence severity increases.

Exploring Effects of a Nostalgic Storytelling Virtual Reality Experience Beyond Hedonism.

In this study, we tested the effect of a nostalgic storytelling virtual reality (VR) experience (vs. a text-reading neutral VR experience as the comparison condition) on state-level eudaimonic well-being and explored the underlying mediating mechanisms. In a within-subject experimental design, all 31 participants experienced both versions of the VR in pseudorandomized and counterbalanced order. Compared with the text-reading VR experience, the nostalgic storytelling VR resulted in significantly higher hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment media gratifications (aka. media enjoyment and media appreciation, respectively), social connectedness, and state-level well-being. Moreover, the relationship between VR and well-being was serially mediated by the level of state nostalgia and eudaimonic media gratifications. That is, the nostalgic storytelling VR was found to evoke state nostalgia, which led to a greater appreciation of the VR experience; this appreciation, in turn, contributed to increased state-level well-being. Implications of the study findings for future research and practice are discussed.

Do you feel up when you go up? A pilot study of a virtual reality manic-like mood induction paradigm.

In order to understand the working mechanisms of mania, it is necessary to perform studies during the onset of manic (-like) mood states. However, clinical mania is difficult to examine experimentally. A viable method to study manic mood like states is mood induction, but mood induction tasks thus far show variable effectiveness. In this pilot study, a new paradigm to induce mood through virtual reality (VR) is examined. Both state characteristics, namely changes in emotion, and trait characteristics, such as high and low scores on the hypomanic personality scale (HPS), were measured in 65 students. These students participated in either a neutral VR mood induction or an activating VR mood induction in which excitement, goal directedness, and tension (being aspects of mania) were induced. All participants performed a risk-taking behavioural task, Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). The experimental VR task induced excitement and tension. In participants with higher sensitivity to hypomanic personality (HPS), irritation increased in response to activation whereas it decreased in the low HPS group, and excitement increased more steeply in the low HPS group. There were no effects on the behavioural task. The VR task is effective in inducing relevant state aspects of hypomania and is suitable as a paradigm for future experimental studies. Activation of dual affective states (excitement and tension) is an essential aspect in manic-like mood induction paradigms.

Walk the plank! Using mobile electroencephalography to investigate emotional lateralization of immersive fear in virtual reality.

Most studies on emotion processing induce emotions through images or films. However, this method lacks ecological validity, limiting generalization to real-life emotion processing. More realistic paradigms using virtual reality (VR) may be better suited to investigate authentic emotional states and their neuronal correlates. This pre-registered study examines the neuronal underpinnings of naturalistic fear, measured using mobile electroencephalography (EEG). Seventy-five healthy participants walked across a virtual plank which extended from the side of a skyscraper-either 80 storeys up (the negative condition) or at street level (the neutral condition). Subjective ratings showed that the negative condition induced feelings of fear. Following the VR experience, participants passively viewed negative and neutral images from the international affective picture system (IAPS) outside of VR. We compared frontal alpha asymmetry between the plank and IAPS task and across valence of the conditions. Asymmetry indices in the plank task revealed greater right-hemispheric lateralization during the negative VR condition, relative to the neutral VR condition and to IAPS viewing. Within the IAPS task, no significant asymmetries were detected. In summary, our findings indicate that immersive technologies such as VR can advance emotion research by providing more ecologically valid ways to induce emotion.

From virtual to prosocial reality: The effects of prosocial virtual reality games on preschool Children's prosocial tendencies in real life environments

Virtual Reality (VR) technology can provide new opportunities to promote prosocial learning in young children. However, little empirical research has examined how this technology can impact preschool children's prosocial behavior. To respond to this need, two experiments investigated how VR prosocial games affect preschool children's prosocial behavior in real-life settings. Positive affect and sense of competence were examined as potential mediators between the VR prosocial play and real-life prosocial behavior. In the first experiment, 4-to 6-year-olds (N = 166) were randomly assigned to play a prosocial, violent, or neutral VR game. After the game, helping behaviors towards the experimenter were tested on a behavioral task. In the second experiment, 4-to 6-year-olds (N = 173) were randomly assigned to a prosocial, positive affect, or neutral VR game condition, and their sharing behavior with peers was examined on a dictator game. Across experiments, children in the pro-social game condition exhibited more helping and sharing behaviors than children in the violent, positive affect, or neutral conditions. Positive affect mediated the effect of VR prosocial play on prosocial behavior; the effect of competence was not significant. The contribution of gamified VR environments to facilitating prosocial development during the preschool age is discussed.

Theta-Burst Stimulation Combined With Virtual-Reality Reconsolidation Intervention for Methamphetamine Use Disorder: Study Protocol for a Randomized-Controlled Trial.

BackgroundCraving associated with drug-related memory is one of the key factors that induce the relapse of methamphetamine (MA). Disruption or modulation of the reconsolidation of drug-related memory may serve as an option for clinical treatment of MA addiction. This protocol proposes to use virtual reality (VR) to retrieve drug-associated memory and then use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at the neural circuit that encodes the reward value of drug cues to provide a non-invasive intervention during reconsolidation. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of TMS treatment after VR retrieval on the reduction of cue reactivity and craving of MA.MethodsThis is a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel group trial, targeting participants with MA use disorder aged from 18 to 45 years old. Forty-five eligible volunteers in Shanxi Drug Rehabilitation Center will be recruited and be randomly allocated into three parallel groups, receiving either 1) MA-related cues retrieval in VR combined with active TMS (MA VR scene + TBS) or 2) sham TMS (MA VR scene + sham TBS), or 3) neutral cues retrieval in VR combined with active TMS (neutral VR scene + TBS). Two sessions of post-VR-retrieval TBS will be scheduled on two separate days within 1 week. The primary outcome will detect the memory-related activity by the electroencephalography (EEG) reactivity to drug cues in VR scenes. Secondary outcomes are the self-reported MA craving in VR scene, the physiological parameter (cue-induced heart rate) and the scores of psychological questionnaires including anxiety, depression, and mood. All primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 1-week, and 1-month post-intervention. Assessments will be compared between the groups of 1) MA VR scene + TBS, 2) MA VR scene + sham TBS and 3) neutral VR scene + TBS.DiscussionThis will be the first study to examine whether the TMS modulation after VR retrieval can reduce self-reported craving and drug-related cue reactivity. It will promote the understanding of the neural circuit mechanism of the reconsolidation-based intervention and provide an effective treatment for MA use disorder patients.Clinical Trial Registration[Chinese Clinical Trial Registry], identifier [ChiCTR1900026902]. Registered on 26 October 2019.

Authentic Fear Responses in Virtual Reality: A Mobile EEG Study on Affective, Behavioral and Electrophysiological Correlates of Fear

Fear is an evolutionary adaption to a hazardous environment, linked to numerous complex behavioral responses, e.g., the fight-or-flight response, suiting their respective environment. However, for the sake of experimental control, fear is mainly investigated under rather artificial laboratory conditions. The latter transform these evolutionary adaptions into artificial responses, like keystrokes. The immersive, multidimensional character of virtual reality (VR) enables realistic behavioral responses, overcoming aforementioned limitations. To investigate authentic fear responses from a holistic perspective, participants explored either a negative or a neutral VR cave. To promote real-life behavior, we built a physical replica of the cave, providing haptic sensations. Electrophysiological correlates of fear-related approach and avoidance tendencies, i.e., frontal alpha asymmetries (FAA) were evaluated. To our knowledge, this is the first study to simultaneously capture complex behavior and associated electrophysiological correlates under highly immersive conditions. Participants in the negative condition exhibited a broad spectrum of realistic fear behavior and reported intense negative affect as opposed to participants in the neutral condition. Despite these affective and behavioral differences, the groups could not be distinguished based on the FAAs for the greater part of the cave exploration. Taking the specific behavioral responses into account, the obtained FAAs could not be reconciled with well-known FAA models. Consequently, putting laboratory-based models to the test under realistic conditions shows that they may not unrestrictedly predict realistic behavior. As the VR environment facilitated non-mediated and realistic emotional and behavioral responses, our results demonstrate VR’s high potential to increase the ecological validity of scientific findings (video abstract:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qROsPOp87l4&amp;amp;feature=youtu.be).

Smoking-related cue reactivity in a virtual reality setting: association between craving and EEG measures

BackgroundCue-reactivity is the array of responses that smokers exhibit when exposed to conditioned and contextual stimuli previously associated to substance use. The difficulty to experimentally recreate the complexity of smokers’ spatial experience and context requires more ecological models. Virtual reality (VR) creates a state of immersion close to reality allowing controlled assessments of behavioral responses. To date, no studies investigated brain activation associated to smoking cue-reactivity in VR using electroencephalography (EEG).AimsTo investigate whether a VR cue-reactivity paradigm (a) may increase smoking craving, (b) is feasible with EEG recording, and (c) induces craving levels associated to EEG desynchronization.MethodsSmokers (N = 20) and non-smokers (N = 20) were exposed to neutral and smoking-related VR scenarios, without and with smoking conditioned stimuli, respectively. EEG was recorded from occipital and parietal leads throughout the sessions to assess alpha band desynchronization. Smoking and food craving and presence visual analogue scales (VAS) were assessed during the session.ResultsTo be smoker, but not non-smoker, significantly influenced smoking craving VAS induced by smoking cue VR but not by neutral VR. No significant food craving changes was observed during the VR sessions. The new finding was that EEG alpha band power in posterior leads was significantly increased by the smoking context scenario only in smokers, and that the degree of smoking (i.e., heavy vs. light) was significantly associated to this neurophysiological measure.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated, for the first time, the feasibility of EEG recording in a VR setting, suggesting that EEG desynchronization may be a neurophysiological marker of smoking cue-reactivity.

Representation of Patients' Hand Modulates Fear Reactions of Patients with Spider Phobia in Virtual Reality.

Embodiment (i.e., the involvement of a bodily representation) is thought to be relevant in emotional experiences. Virtual reality (VR) is a capable means of activating phobic fear in patients. The representation of the patient’s body (e.g., the right hand) in VR enhances immersion and increases presence, but its effect on phobic fear is still unknown. We analyzed the influence of the presentation of the participant’s hand in VR on presence and fear responses in 32 women with spider phobia and 32 matched controls. Participants sat in front of a table with an acrylic glass container within reaching distance. During the experiment this setup was concealed by a head-mounted display (HMD). The VR scenario presented via HMD showed the same setup, i.e., a table with an acrylic glass container. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. In one group, fear responses were triggered by fear-relevant visual input in VR (virtual spider in the virtual acrylic glass container), while information about a real but unseen neutral control animal (living snake in the acrylic glass container) was given. The second group received fear-relevant information of the real but unseen situation (living spider in the acrylic glass container), but visual input was kept neutral VR (virtual snake in the virtual acrylic glass container). Participants were instructed to touch the acrylic glass container with their right hand in 20 consecutive trials. Visibility of the hand was varied randomly in a within-subjects design. We found for all participants that visibility of the participant’s hand increased presence independently of the fear trigger. However, in patients, the influence of the virtual hand on fear depended on the fear trigger. When fear was triggered perceptually, i.e., by a virtual spider, the virtual hand increased fear. When fear was triggered by information about a real spider, the virtual hand had no effect on fear. Our results shed light on the significance of different fear triggers (visual, conceptual) in interaction with body representations.

The use of immersive virtual reality (VR) to predict the occurrence 6 months later of paranoid thinking and posttraumatic stress symptoms assessed by self-report and interviewer methods: A study of individuals who have been physically assaulted.

Presentation of social situations via immersive virtual reality (VR) has the potential to be an ecologically valid way of assessing psychiatric symptoms. In this study we assess the occurrence of paranoid thinking and of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in response to a single neutral VR social environment as predictors of later psychiatric symptoms assessed by standard methods. One hundred six people entered an immersive VR social environment (a train ride), presented via a head-mounted display, 4 weeks after having attended hospital because of a physical assault. Paranoid thinking about the neutral computer-generated characters and the occurrence of PTSD symptoms in VR were assessed. Reactions in VR were then used to predict the occurrence 6 months later of symptoms of paranoia and PTSD, as assessed by standard interviewer and self-report methods. Responses to VR predicted the severity of paranoia and PTSD symptoms as assessed by standard measures 6 months later. The VR assessments also added predictive value to the baseline interviewer methods, especially for paranoia. Brief exposure to environments presented via virtual reality provides a symptom assessment with predictive ability over many months. VR assessment may be of particular benefit for difficult to assess problems, such as paranoia, that have no gold standard assessment method. In the future, VR environments may be used in the clinic to complement standard self-report and clinical interview methods.

Using virtual reality to study food cravings

Food cravings (FCs) are associated with overeating and obesity and are triggered by environmental cues. The study of FCs is challenged by difficulty replicating the natural environment in a laboratory. Virtual reality (VR) could be used to deliver naturalistic cues in a laboratory. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether food related cues delivered by VR could induce greater FCs than neutral VR cues, photographic food cues, or real food. Sixty normal weight non-dieting women were recruited; and, to prevent a floor effect, half were primed with a monotonous diet (MD). Experimental procedures involved delivering neutral cues via VR and food related cues via VR, photographs, and real food in counterbalanced order while measuring subjective (self-report) and objective (salivation) FCs. FCs produced by VR were marginally greater than a neutral cue, not significantly different from picture cues, and significantly less than real food. The modest effects may have been due to quality of the VR system and/or measures of FC (i.e., self-report and salivation). FC threshold among non-dieting normal weight women was lowered with the use of a MD condition. Weight loss programs with monotonous diets may inadvertently increase FCs making diet compliance more difficult.

Using Virtual Reality to Assess Young Adult Smokers' Attention to Cues

Cigarette smokers, when confronted with cues associated with smoking, evidence strong reactions, including increased attentional bias toward those smoking-related cues. These reactions have not been extensively studied in young adult smokers, a group that research suggests may respond differently than adults or adolescent smokers. Furthermore, the impact of olfactory cues, such as cigarette smoke, on attentional bias has not been explored in young adult smokers. In this pilot study, 20 nicotine-dependent young adult smokers were randomized to receive scent cues or no scent cues and were exposed to four virtual reality (VR) rooms containing sensory and social content, including smoking or neutral cues. Participants entered a neutral VR room, followed by two different smoking VR rooms, and closed with the same neutral room. Subjective attention to smoking cues and thoughts about smoking responses were recorded upon exiting each room. Significant increases in attention to cues and thoughts about smoking were found when young adult smokers were exposed to VR smoking environments, but the inclusion of olfactory cues did not result in significantly higher attention to cues or thoughts about smoking. Results suggest that while further research is necessary to understand the impact of olfactory cues, VR appears to be an effective methodology for cue exposure studies exploring attentional bias in young adult smokers.