Department of Surgery, Radboud university medical center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 3;10(1):9067. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66035-4.
Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to reduce pain, however outcome parameters of previous studies have primarily been of a subjective nature and susceptible to bias. This study investigated the effect of VR on cortical processing of evoked potentials (EPs) and subjectively reported pain. Additionally, we explored whether subjects' demographic and personal characteristics modulated the effect of VR analgesia.
Three VR conditions were compared in a randomized cross-over study of 30 healthy volunteers: Passive VR (i.e. no interaction possible with the virtual world), active VR (interactive virtual environment) and no VR (black screen). Subjects received noxious electrical stimuli at random intervals during all conditions. EPs, recorded at Cz, were extracted time locked to stimuli. Pain scores were reported after each condition.
Active VR significantly decreased pain scores and amplitudes of N1 and P3. Passive VR had no analgesic effect. Age was significantly correlated to pain scores, with older subjects demonstrating larger effects of VR. Gender, game experience, and susceptibility for immersion, did not influence VR analgesia.
Active VR decreases pre-perceptual and perceptual brain activity following painful electrical stimuli, corresponding with reduced pain experience. VR has potential to serve as a non-pharmacologic treatment for pain, particularly in elderly patients.
虚拟现实 (VR) 已被证明可以减轻疼痛，然而之前研究的结果参数主要是主观的，容易受到偏差的影响。本研究调查了 VR 对诱发电位 (EP) 的皮质处理和主观报告的疼痛的影响。此外，我们还探讨了受试者的人口统计学和个人特征是否调节了 VR 镇痛的效果。
在一项 30 名健康志愿者的随机交叉研究中，比较了三种 VR 条件：被动 VR（即与虚拟世界无法交互）、主动 VR（交互式虚拟环境）和无 VR（黑屏）。在所有条件下，受试者以随机间隔接受有害电刺激。在刺激时锁定时间提取 Cz 处的 EP。在每个条件后报告疼痛评分。
主动 VR 显著降低了疼痛评分和 N1 和 P3 的幅度。被动 VR 没有镇痛作用。年龄与疼痛评分显著相关，年龄较大的受试者 VR 的效果更大。性别、游戏经验和沉浸感易感性均不影响 VR 镇痛效果。
主动 VR 可降低疼痛电刺激后的前感知和感知大脑活动，与疼痛体验减轻相对应。VR 有潜力成为疼痛的非药物治疗方法，特别是在老年患者中。
