Virtual reality intervention effects on future self-continuity and delayed reward preference in substance use disorder recovery: pilot study results
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Sustained remission from substance use disorder (SUD) is challenged by high relapse rates, which provides opportunities for novel clinical interventions. Immersive virtual reality (VR) permits delivering synthetic experiences that feel real and actualizes otherwise impossible scenarios for therapeutic benefit. We report on the feasibility of an immersive VR intervention designed to increase valuation of the future by enhancing future self-continuity and leveraging future self-discrepancy with personalized future selves as SUD recovery support. Twenty-one adults in early SUD recovery (< 1 year) interacted with versions of themselves age-progressed fifteen years from two different behavioral trajectories: an SUD Future Self and a Recovery Future Self. The future selves’ interactive monologs include personalized details and voice for a lifelike interaction within a time travel vignette. Before and following the intervention, participants rated future self-continuity and performed delay discounting. Following the intervention, daily images of the Recovery Future Self were sent to participants’ smartphones for thirty days. The VR intervention generated no adverse events, was well tolerated (presence, liking, and comfort), significantly increased future self-continuity and delayed reward preference (doubling delay tolerance), and reduced craving, ps < .05. Thirty days later, n = 18 remained abstinent; importantly, increased future self-similarity persisted. Abstainers’ future self-similarity increased following VR. All individual participants showing increased future self-similarity post-VR remained abstinent, and all participants who relapsed showed either reduced or zero effect on future self-similarity. Post-intervention semi-structured interviews revealed emotional engagement with the experience. VR simulation of imagined realities reifies novel clinical interventions that are practicable and personalized. The current study demonstrates an implementation readily applied in the clinic and shows promise for facilitating SUD recovery. Creative collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and VR developers has great potential to revolutionize mental health interventions and expand the range of tools for clinicians targeting SUD and other disorders.
Source: Discover Mental Health
Authors: Yitong I. Shen, Andrew J. Nelson, Brandon G. Oberlin
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,290
Awards: G1218922180, G1731316166, From Data Types to Session Types---A Basis for Concurrency and Distribution, BRIDGE - Building Resilience In a Dynamic Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus, G2301784144, Nonlinear Structural Dynamics, Taming Concurrency, Small is Beautiful, Which burglary security devices work for whom and in what context?, UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Node in Resilience, STRATA; Layers for Structuring Trustworthy Ambient Systems, TGAC ISPG - Developing Strategies for Big Data Bioinformatics, Energy saving in the Foundry Industry by Novel Single Shot Melting Process, TGAC NCG: National Genomics Facility, ORA (Round 5) Towards realistic computational models of social influence dynamics, Improving health care burden amongst sepsis survivors by reducing infection-related rehospitalisation, Enhancing Security Through Improved Cryptographic Reductions, Evaluation of MR imaging to predict neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm infants, Digital twins for improved dynamic design, G6531584412, A Constraint Modelling Pipeline, ProofPeer: Collaborative Theorem Proving, The Integration and Interaction of Multiple Mathematical Reasoning Processes, G7349824110, G7510748817, DAASE: Dynamic Adaptive Automated Software Engineering, INTRINSICALLY FAULT TOLERANT ACTUATION THROUGH HIGH REDUNDANCY
OpenAlex ID: W4296122191