Ghiţă Alexandra, Hernández-Serrano Olga, Fernández-Ruiz Yolanda, Monras Miquel, Ortega Lluisa, Mondon Silvia, Teixidor Lidia, Gual Antoni, Porras-García Bruno, Ferrer-García Marta, Gutiérrez-Maldonado José
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d' Hebron 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Department of Physical Therapy, EUSES University of Girona, 17190 Salt, Spain.
J Clin Med. 2019 Aug 2;8(8):1153. doi: 10.3390/jcm8081153.
This study is part of a larger project aiming to develop a virtual reality (VR) software to be implemented as a clinical tool for patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The study is based on previous research in which we identified factors that elicit craving for alcohol in a sample of AUD patients, and which led to the development of a virtual reality software to be used in cue exposure treatments of alcohol use disorder (ALCO-VR). The main objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of ALCO-VR to elicit cue-induced craving and anxiety responses among social drinkers (SD) and AUD patients. Our secondary objective was to explore which responses (cue-induced craving or anxiety) can best differentiate between AUD patients and the SD group.
Twenty-seven individuals (13 AUD patients and 14 SD) participated in this study after giving written informed consent. Their anxiety and alcohol craving levels were measured by different instruments at different stages of the procedure. The VR equipment consisted of Oculus Rift technology, and the software consisted of the ALCO-VR platform.
Our data indicate that the ALCO-VR software can elicit responses of anxiety and alcohol craving, especially in the group of AUD patients. The cue-induced anxiety response differentiated AUD patients and the SD group better than the cue-induced craving response.
The general interest in applying new technologies to the assessment and treatment of mental health disorders has led to the development of immersive real-life simulations based on the advantages of VR technology. Our study concluded that the ALCO-VR software can elicit anxiety and craving responses and that cue-induced anxiety responses can distinguish between AUD and SD groups better than cue-induced craving. The data on craving and anxiety were assessed consistently by different instruments. In addition, we consider that ALCO-VR is able to ecologically assess cue-induced anxiety and alcohol craving levels during exposure to VR alcohol-related environments.
本研究是一个更大项目的一部分，该项目旨在开发一款虚拟现实（VR）软件，作为诊断为酒精使用障碍（AUD）患者的临床工具。本研究基于之前的研究，在该研究中我们在一组AUD患者样本中确定了引发酒精渴望的因素，并据此开发了一款用于酒精使用障碍线索暴露治疗的虚拟现实软件（ALCO-VR）。本研究的主要目的是测试ALCO-VR在社交饮酒者（SD）和AUD患者中引发线索诱导性渴望和焦虑反应的有效性。我们的次要目的是探索哪种反应（线索诱导性渴望或焦虑）能最好地区分AUD患者和SD组。
27名个体（13名AUD患者和14名SD）在签署书面知情同意书后参与了本研究。在程序的不同阶段，通过不同工具测量他们的焦虑和酒精渴望水平。VR设备由Oculus Rift技术组成，软件由ALCO-VR平台组成。
我们的数据表明，ALCO-VR软件能够引发焦虑和酒精渴望反应，尤其是在AUD患者组中。线索诱导的焦虑反应比线索诱导的渴望反应能更好地区分AUD患者和SD组。
将新技术应用于心理健康障碍评估和治疗的普遍兴趣促使基于VR技术优势开发沉浸式现实生活模拟。我们的研究得出结论，ALCO-VR软件能够引发焦虑和渴望反应，并且线索诱导的焦虑反应比线索诱导的渴望反应能更好地区分AUD和SD组。通过不同工具对渴望和焦虑数据进行了一致评估。此外，我们认为ALCO-VR能够在接触VR酒精相关环境期间生态地评估线索诱导的焦虑和酒精渴望水平。
