Neurophysiological Correlates of Dissociation Induced by Virtual Reality Hypnosis.
Condition: Healthy Volunteers
MeSH terms: Dissociative Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Hypnosis and virtual reality are potential tools in treating acute pain. Nevertheless, the
      neurophysiological correlates of such tools used together, i.e. 'virtual reality hypnosis'
      (VRH) (Patterson et al., 2004) remain mostly understudied. This study aims to improve our
      knowledge and understanding of the dissociation (i.e., a mental separation of components of
      behaviours that normally would be processed together) occurring during VRH. This is a
      randomized controlled study that will be conducted on healthy participants. As the final goal
      is to propose such a tool in the clinical context, a clinical application will also be
      carried out subsequently.

      Thus the principal outcome is to study dissociation in the context of VRH from a behavioral
      and neurophysiological point of view.

      Secondary objectives aim at identifying factors that influence the dissociative effect seen
      in VRH, as well as measuring traits of hypnotisability, absorption, immersive abilities,
      dissociation trait and state, pain, and anxiety levels that might impact the effectiveness of
      such a tool.
    

Detailed description: 
      The protocol will follow the following steps:

        1. Before the experiment:

             -  A medical screening of the medical history and of any concomitant medications will
                be performed to eligibility.

             -  The 6-item Elkins Hypnotisability Scale (EHS) will be used to assess participant
                hypnotisability.

             -  Questionnaire sur la Propension à l'Immersion (QPI) will be used to assess
                participant immersion tendency.

        2. Experimental session: Cross-over and within-participant control design i. Visual
           Analogue Scale (VAS) :

             -  Anxiety.

             -  Pain. ii. EEG Resting-state (5-Min.). iii. EEG VRH or EEG Hypnosis alone (HYP)
                (15-Min.). iv. Adverse Events (AE) during the protocol will be recorded. v.
                Narrative recording. vi. VAS :

             -  Dissociation

             -  Absorption

             -  Pain

             -  Anxiety

             -  Arousal/wakefulness

             -  Automaticity vii. Time perception (open question) viii. CyberSickness (CSQ) (only
                if VRH) ix. Presence Questionnaire x. Satisfaction questionnaire xi. Washout Phase
                (30-Min.) during which we will administer :

             -  Six-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6) .

             -  Tellegen Absorption Scale .

             -  Dissociative Experience Scales (DES) . xii. VAS:

             -  Anxiety

             -  Pain xiv. Adverse Events during the protocol will be recorded. xv. Narrative
                recording. xvi. EEG HYP or EEG VRH Phase (15-Min.). xvii. VAS:

             -  Dissociation

             -  Absorption

             -  Pain

             -  Anxiety

             -  Arousal/wakefulness

             -  Time perception xviii. CSQ (only if VRH) xix. Presence Questionnaire. xx.
                Satisfaction Questionnaire .
    

Intervention name(s): Hypnosis without VR (HYP); Hypnosis with VR (VRH)
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Device
Intervention description(s): HYP will last for 15 minutes including an induction phase of 5 minutes. The hypnotic audio script "Heaven of Peace" developped/recorded by Pr. M-E. Faymonville will be used.; The VRH intervention will use the Aqua video session developed by Oncomfort.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: Cross-over and within-participant control design.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: Virtual Reality; Hypnosis; Dissociation