Virtual reality as empowering environment for personal change: The contribution of the applied technology for neuro-psychology laboratory

Anuario de Psicologia

Volumn 40, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 171-192

  Riva, Giuseppe ^a,b   Gaggioli, Andrea ^a,b   Gorini, Alessandra ^a,b,c   Carelli, Laura ^a,b,c,d   Repetto, Claudia ^a   Algeri, Davide ^a   Vigna, Cinzia ^a  

^a ISTITUTO AUXOLOGICO ITALIANO   (Italy)

^b UNIVERSITÀ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE   (Italy)

^c MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY   (Netherlands)

^d UNIVERSITY OF BERGAMO   (Italy)

Author keywords

Anxiety disorders; Empowerment; Obesity and eating disorders; Virtual reality

Indexed keywords

AGORAPHOBIA; ASSERTIVENESS; CHANGE THEORY; COMPUTER PROGRAM; EATING DISORDER; EMPOWERMENT; EXERCISE; GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER; HUMAN; KNOWLEDGE; NEUROPSYCHOLOGY; OBESITY; PANIC; PERSONAL VALUE; REVIEW; SELF ESTEEM; SKILL; TECHNOLOGY; THREE DIMENSIONAL IMAGING; VIRTUAL REALITY;

EID: 73549090793     PISSN: 00665126     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (90)

1. Amorim, M. A. (2005). "What is my avatar seeing?" The coordination of "out-of-body" and "embodied" perspectives for scene recognition across views. Visual Cognition, 10(2), 157-199.
2. ASAM. (1996). Patient Placement Criteria for the Treatment of Substance-Related Disorders - Second Edition. Chevy Chase, MD: American Association of Addiction Medicine.
3. Astur, R. S., Taylor, L. B., Mamelak, A. N., Philpott, L., & Sutherland, R. J. (2002). Humans with hippocampus damage display severe spatial memory impairments in a virtual Morris water task. Behavior and Brain Sciences, 132, 77-84.
4. Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory. En R. Vasta (Ed.), Annals of child development - Vol. 6 - Six theories of child development (pp. 1-60). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
5. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercize of control. New York: W H Freeman & Co.
6. Baños, R. M., Botella, C., & Perpiñà, C. (1999). Virtual reality and psychopathology. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 2(4), 283-292.
7. Bermúdez, J., Marcel, A. J., & Eilan, N. (1995). The body and the self. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
8. Bordnick, P. S., Graap, K. M., Copp, H. L., Brooks, J., & Ferrer, M. (2005). Virtual reality cue reactivity assessment in cigarette smokers. Cyberpsychol Behav, 8(5), 487-492.
9. Bordnick, P. S., Traylor, A., Copp, H. L., Graap, K. M., Carter, B., Ferrer, M., et al. (2008). Assessing reactivity to virtual reality alcohol based cues. Addict Behav, 33(6), 743-756.
10. Botella, C., García-Palacios, A., Villa, H., Baños, R. M., Quero, M., Alcañiz, M., et al. (2007). Virtual reality exposure in the treatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia: A controlled study. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 14(3), 164-175.
11. Botella, C., Perpiñà, C., Baños, R. M., & García-Palacios, A. (1998). Virtual reality: A new clinical setting lab. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 58, 73-81.
12. Botella, C., Quero, S., Baños, R. M., Perpinà, C., García Palacios, A., & Riva, G. (2004). Virtual reality and psychotherapy. Stud Health Technol Inform, 99, 37-54.
13. Buhlmann, U., Cook, L. M., Fama, J. M., & Wilhelm, S. (2007). Perceived teasing experiences in body dysmorphic disorder. Body Image, 4(4), 381-385.
14. Burgess, N., Becker, S., King, J. A., & O'Keefe, J. O. (2001). Memory for events and their spatial context: Models and experiments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 356, 1-11.
15. Byrne, P., Becker, S., & Burgess, N. (2007). Remembering the past and imagining the future: A neural model of spatial memory and imagery. Psychological Review, 114(2), 340-375.
16. Carroll, K. M. (1998). Therapy manuals for drug addiction. Manual I. A cognitive-behavioral approach: Treating cocaine dependence (98-4308). Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Drug Abuse.
17. Cash, T. F. (1996). The treatment of body image disturbances. En J. K. Thompson (Ed.), Body image, eating disorders and obesity (pp. 83-107). Washington, DC: APA - American Psychological Association.
18. Cash, T. F. (1997). The body image workbook: an eight-step program for learning to like your looks. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
19. Cash, T. F., Phillips, K. A., Santos, M. T., & Hrabosky, J. I. (2004). Measuring "negative body image": Validation of the Body Image Disturbance Questionnaire in a nonclinical population, Body Image, 1(4), 363-372.
20. Castelnuovo, G., Cesa, G. L., Gaggioli, A., Villani, D., Molinari, E., & Riva, G. (2005). A new generation of virtual environments for the treatment and rehabilitation of eating disorders. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 8(4), 310-310.
21. Choi, Y. H., Vincelli, F., Riva, G., Wiederhold, B. K., Lee, J. H., & Park, K. H. (2005). Effects of group experiential cognitive therapy for the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(4), 387-393.
22. Clancey, W. J. (1997). Situated cognition: On human knowledge and computer representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23. Clark, A. (1997). Being there: Putting brain body and world together again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
24. Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. En R. G. Heimberg, M. R. Liebowitz, D. A. Hope & F. R. Schneier (Eds.), Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment (pp. 69-93). New York: Guilford Press.
25. Conrad, C. D. (2006). What is the functional significance of chronic stress-induced CA3 dendritic retraction within the hippocampus? Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 5(1), 41-60.
26. Cooper, Z., Fairburn, C. G., & Hawker, D. M. (2003). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of obesity: A clinician's guide. New York: Guilford Publications, Inc.
27. Coslett, H. B., Saffran, E. M., & Schwoebel, J. (2002). Knowledge of the human body: A distinct semantic domain. Neurology, 59(3), 357-363.
28. D'Argembeau, A., Van der Linden, M., d'Acremont, M., & Mayers, I. (2006). Phenomenal characteristics of autobiographical memories for social and non-social events in social phobia. Memory, 14(5), 637-647.
29. DiClemente, C. C. (1986). Self-efficacy and the addictive behaviors. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4, 302-315.
30. Emmelkamp, P. M. (2005). Technological innovations in clinical assessment and psychotherapy. Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, 74(6), 336-343.
31. Farrell, A. D. (1991). Computers and behavioral-assessment - current applications, future possibilities, and obstacles to routine Use. Behavioral Assessment, 13(2), 159-179.
32. Fornells-Ambrojo, M., Barker, C., Swapp, D., Slater, M., Antley, A., & Freeman, D. (2008). Virtual reality and persecutory delusions: Safety and feasibility. Schizophrenia Research, 104(1-3), 228-236.
33. Galati, G., Lobel, E., Vallar, G., Berthoz, A., Pizzamiglio, L., & Le Bihan, D. (2000). The neural basis of egocentric and allocentric coding of space in humans: A functional magnetic resonance study. Experimental Brain Research, 133, 156-164.
34. Gallagher, S. (1995). Body schema and intentionality. En J. L. Bermúdez, A. Marcel & N. Eilan (Eds.), The body and the self (Vol. 225-244). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
35. Gallagher, S. (2003). Bodily self-awareness and object perception. Theoria et Historia Scientiarum: International Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies, 7(1), online: http://www2.canisius.edu/~gallaghr/theoria03.html.
36. Gatti, E., Massari, R., Sacchelli, C., Lops, T., Gatti, R., & Riva, G. (2008). Why do you drink? Virtual reality as an experiential medium for the assessment of alcohol-dependent individuals. Stud Health Technol Inform, 132, 132-137.
37. Glantz, K., Durlach, N. I., Barnett, R. C., & Aviles, W. A. (1997). Virtual reality (VR) and psychotherapy: Opportunities and challenges. Presence, Teleoperators, and Virtual Environments, 6(1), 87-105.
38. Godart, N., Berthoz, S., Rein, Z., Perdercau, F., Lang, F., Venisse, J. L., et al. (2006). Docs the frequency of anxiety and depressive disorders differ between diagnostic subtypes of anorexia nervosa and bulimia? International Journal of Eating Disorders, 39(8), 772-778.
39. Gorini, A., Gaggioli, A., & Riva, G. (2007). Virtual worlds, real healing. Science, 318(5856), 1549.
40. Gorini, A., Gaggioli, A., Vigna, C., & Riva, G. (2008). A second life for eHealth: prospects for the use of 3-D virtual worlds in clinical psychology. J Med Internet Res, 10(3), e21.
41. Gorini, A., & Riva, G. (2008a). The potential of virtual reality as anxiety management tool: A randomized controlled study in a sample of patients affected by generalized anxiety disorder. Trials, 9, 25.
42. Gorini, A., & Riva, G. (2008b). Virtual reality in anxiety disorders: The past and the future. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 8(2), 215-233.
43. Heffner, S. (2007). Virtual reality in U.S. healthcare (markets for remote surgery, 3D modeling, pain distraction and other applications). Rockville, MD: Kalorama Information.
44. Hinrichsen, H., Waller, G., & Dhokia, R. (2007). Core beliefs and social anxiety in the eating disorders. Eating and Weight Disorders, 12(1), c14-18.
45. Hoffman, H. G. (2004). Virtual-reality therapy: Patients can get relief from pain or overcome their phobias by immersing themselves in computer-generated worlds. Scientific American, 291(2), 58-65.
46. Juurmaa, J., & Lehtinen-Railo, S. (1994). Visual experience and access to spatial knowledge. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 88, 157-170.
47. Kvalem, L. I., von Soest, T., Roald, H. E., & Skolleborg, K. C. (2006). The interplay of personality and negative comments about appearance in predicting body image Body Image, 3(3), 263-273.
48. Lambrey, S., & Berthoz, A. (2003). Combination of conflicting visual and non-visual information for estimating actively performed body turns in virtual reality. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 50(1-2), 101-115.
49. Lee, J. H., Kwon, H., Choi, J., & Yang, B. H. (2007). Cue-exposure therapy to decrease alcohol craving in virtual environment. Cyberpsychol Behav, 10(5), 617-623.
50. Levine, M. P., & Piran, N. (2004). The role of body image in the prevention of eating disorders. Body Image, 1(1), 57-70.
51. Mather, M. (2007). Emotional arousal and memory binding: An object-based framework. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(1), 33-52.
52. McLaughlin, K. J., Gómez, J. L., Baran, S. E., & Conrad, C. D. (2007). The effects of chronic stress on hippocampal morphology and function: An evaluation of chronic restraint paradigms. Brain Research, 1161, 57-64.
53. Menon, S. T. (1999). Psychological empowerment: Definition, measurement, and validation. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 31(3), 161-164.
54. Murray, C. D., & Gordon, M. S. (2001). Changes in bodily awareness induced by immersive virtual reality. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 4(3), 365-371.
55. Myers, T. C., Swan-Kremeier, L., Wonderlich, S., Lancaster, K., & Mitchell, J. E. (2004). The use of alternative delivery systems and new technologies in the treatment of patients with eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 36(2), 123-143.
56. Optale, G. (2003). Male sexual dysfunctions and multimedia immersion therapy. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6(3), 289-294.
57. Osman, S., Cooper, M., Hackmann, A., & Veale, D. (2004). Spontaneously occurring images and early memories in people with body dysmorphic disorder. Memory, 12(4), 428-436.
58. Perpiñà, C., Botella, C., & Baños, R. M. (2003). Virtual reality in eating disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 11(3), 261-278.
59. Ramos, J. M. J. (2000). Long-term spatial memory in rats with hippocampal lesions European Journal of Neuroscience, 12(9), 3375-3384.
60. Riva, G. (1998a). Modifications of body image induced by virtual reality. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 86, 163-170.
61. Riva, G. (1998b). Virtual reality vs. virtual body: The use of virtual environments in the treatment of body experience disturbances. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1(2), 129-137.
62. Riva, G. (2005). Virtual reality in psychotherapy: Review. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(3), 220-230; discussion, 231-240.
63. Riva, G. (2008). From virtual to real body: Virtual reality as embodied technology. Journal of Cybertherapy and Rehabiliation, 1(1), 7-22.
64. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Baruffi, M., Cirillo, G., & Molinari, E. (2000). Virtual reality environment for body image modification: A multidimensional therapy for the treatment of body image in obesity and related pathologies. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 3(3), 421-431.
65. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Baruffi, M., & Molinari, E. (2002). Virtual-reality-based multidimensional therapy for the treatment of body image disturbances in binge eating disorders: A preliminary controlled study. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 6(3), 224-234.
66. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Baruffi, M., Rinaldi, S., & Molinari, E. (1998a). Experiential cognitive therapy in anorexia nervosa. Eating and Weight Disorders (3), 141-150.
67. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Baruffi, M., Rinaldi, S., & Molinari, E. (1998b). Experiential cognitive therapy: a VR based approach for the assessment and treatment of eating disorders. En G. Riva, B. Wiederhold & E. Molinari (Eds.), Virtual environments in clinical psychology and neuroscience: Methods and techniques in advanced patient-therapist interaction (pp. 120-135). Amsterdam: IOS Press.
68. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Baruffi, M., Rinaldi, S., & Molinari, E. (1999). Virtual reality based experiential cognitive treatment of anorexia nervosa. Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 30 (3), 221-230.
69. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Baruffi, M., Rinaldi, S., Vincelli, F., & Molinari, E. (2000). Virtual reality based experiential cognitive treatment of obesity and binge-eating disorders. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 7(3), 209-219.
70. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Cesa, G., Conti, S., Castelnuovo, G., Mantovani, F., et al. (2006). Is severe obesity a form of addiction? Rationale, clinical approach, and controlled clinical trial. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 9(4), 457-479.
71. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Cesa, G., Conti, S., & Molinari, E. (2003). Six-month follow-up of in-patient experiential-cognitive therapy for binge eating disorders. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6(3), 251-258.
72. Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Cesa, G., Conti, S., & Molinari, E. (2004). The use of VR in the treatment of eating disorders. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 99, 121-163.
73. Riva, G., Botella, C., Légeron, P., & Optale, G. (Eds.). (2004). Cybertherapy: Internet and virtual reality as assessment and rehabilitation tools for clinical psychology and neuroscience. Amsterdam: IOS Press; Online: http://www.cybertherapy.info/pages/book3.htm.
74. Robinson, J. A., & Swanson, K. L. (1993). Field and observer modes of remembering. Memory, 1(3), 169-184.
75. Rosen, J. C. (1996). Improving body image in obesity. In J. K. Thompson (Ed.), Body image, eating disorders and obesity (pp. 425-440). Washington, DC: APA - American Psychological Association.
76. Rothbaum, B. O., Hodges, L. F., Ready, D., Graap, K., & Alarcon, R. D. (2001). Virtual reality exposure therapy for Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 62(8), 617-622.
77. Schultheis, M. T., & Rizzo, A. A. (2001). The Application of virtual reality technology in rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Psychology, 46(3), 296-311.
78. Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
79. Vidal, M., Amorim, M. A., & Berthoz, A. (2004). Navigating in a virtual three-dimensional maze: How do egocentric and allocentric reference frames interact? Cognitive Brain Research, 19(3), 244-258.
80. Vidal, M., Lipshits, M., McIntyre, J., & Berthoz, A. (2003). Gravity and spatial orientation in virtual 3D-mazes. Journal of Vestibular Research, 13(4-6), 273-286.
81. Vincelli, F. (1999). From imagination to virtual reality: The future of clinical psychology. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 2(3), 241-248.
82. Vincelli, F., Anolli, L., Bouchard, S., Wiederhold, B. K., Zurloni, V., & Riva, G. (2003). Experiential cognitive therapy in the treatment of panic disorders with agoraphobia: A controlled study. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6(3), 312-318.
83. Vincelli, F., Choi, Y. H., Molinari, E., Wiederhold, B. K., & Riva, G. (2000). Experiential cognitive therapy for the treatment of panic disorders with agoraphobia: Definition of a clinical protocol. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 3(3), 375-386.
84. Vincelli, F., Molinari, E., & Riva, G. (2001). Virtual reality as clinical tool: Immersion and three-dimensionality in the relationship between patient and therapist. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 81, 551-553.
85. Vincelli, F., Molinari, E., & Riva, G. (2006). La Realtà Virtuale in psicologia clinica: Nuovi percorsi di intervento net disturbo di panico con agorafobia. Milano: McGraw Hill.
86. Vocks, S., Legenbauer, T., Ruddel, H., & Troje, N. F. (2007). Static and dynamic body image in bulimia nervosa: Mental representation of body dimension and biological motion patterns. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(1), 59-66.
87. Vyas, A., Mitra, R., Shankaranarayana Rao, B. S., & Chattarji, S. (2002). Chronic stress induces contrasting patterns of dendritic remodeling in hippocampal and amygdaloid neurons. The Journal of Neuroscience, 22(15), 6810-6818.
88. Wells, A., & Papageorgiou, C. (1999). The observer perspective: Biased imagery in social phobia, agoraphobia, and blood/injury phobia. Behavior Research and Therapy, 37(1), 653-658.
89. Wiederhold, B. K., & Rizzo, A. (2005). Virtual reality and applied psychophysiology. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 30(3), 183-185.
90. Wiederhold, B. K., & Wiederhold, M. D. (2003). Three-year follow-up for virtual reality exposure for fear of flying. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 6(4), 441-446.