Clinical trial NCT02584387: 3D Video Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Study
Official title: 3D Video Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (3D-VVRET) Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Acrophobia
Arachnophobia
Lead sponsor: University of Texas at Austin
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2015-10-22
Enrollment: 40
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 65
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study seeks to examine a Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) using the 3D Video Virtual Reality (VR) technology for the fear of spiders.

Detailed description: An estimated 10-11% of the US population experiences a specific phobia at some point in their lives (American Psychiatric Association, 1994; Magee et al., 1996). About 60-85% of those individuals with a specific phobia never seek treatment (Agras, Sylvester, \& Oliveau, 1969; Boyd et al., 1990; Magee et al., 1996). Clinical psychologist can help improve the number of phobia sufferers to seek treatment. Advances in technology are helping clinicians create novel treatment strategies for different anxiety disorders. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) may help these individuals confront their fears and treat their phobia.

While virtual reality exposure therapy has shown promise in research (Powers \& Emmelkamp, 2008), studies have shown that many users complain that the computer generated virtual reality (VR) stimuli looks unrealistic, eccentric and too much like a video game (Kwon, Powell, \& Chalmers, 2013). Virtual reality environments have been traditionally created by programmers using video game assets and computer generated imagery (CGI). While CGI can be used to make intricate virtual environments, unless there is a team of expert digital artists, the virtual stimulus may end up looking rudimentary and exhibit a number of graphical glitches which could prove distracting in therapy. Furthermore CGI often suffers from the uncanny valley effect: the tendency of CGI representations of people to be viewed as unsettling as the representations become more lifelike. In addition the many current CGI virtual reality packages are expensive and only available for limited number of fear domains. Recently however an exciting alternative to traditional computer generated virtual reality has emerged: ortho-stereoscopic 3D Video VR. Ortho-stereoscopic 3D refers to 3D videos that are designed to mimic the natural depth we normally see, as opposed to exaggerating it (i.e. Commercial 3D movies). The benefit of 3D VR as opposed to CGI VR is that it is photo realistic, does not suffer from a uncanny valley effect of CGI, and is able to capture nuances of real life fears that are hard to reproduce with CGI.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* • Between the ages of 18 and 65

  * At least one standard deviation above the SONA pool mean on Fear of Spiders Questionnaire or Acrophobia Questionnaire.

Exclusion Criteria:

* • Hearing or visually impaired where they cannot use the VRET gear

  * Currently (or in the last 3 months) receiving exposure-based treatment for acrophobia or arachnophobia

Primary outcomes:
measure: Fear of Spiders Questionnaire
timeFrame: Pre-treatment and 1 week follow-up
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Behavioral Approach Test
timeFrame: Pre-treatment and Post-treatment
measure: Acceptance and Action Questionnaire
timeFrame: Pre-treatment
measure: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
timeFrame: Pre-treatment
measure: Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI-3)
timeFrame: Pre-treatment
measure: Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS)
timeFrame: Pre-treatment
measure: Disgust Emotion Scale
timeFrame: Pre-treatment
measure: Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale (DPSS-R)
timeFrame: Pre-treatment
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Austin
country: United States
facility: The University of Texas at Austin
state: Texas
Study officials:
References: