Theingi Shunn, Leopold Ian, Ola Tolulope, Cohen Gary S, Maresky Hillel S
Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA USA.
Department of Radiology, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA USA.
J Cogn Enhanc. 2022;6(1):108-113. doi: 10.1007/s41465-021-00212-9. Epub 2021 Apr 6.
Virtual reality (VR) has become an increasingly viable non-pharmacological adjunct to reduce the use of analgesics in hospitals. Within the context of the ongoing opioid epidemic, VR can serve as an invaluable alternative to traditional pain management techniques. While VR research continues to advance, there is no clear consensus on the terms used to describe critical aspects of VR. This paper presents how immersion, presence, and agency encapsulate the VR experience and investigates the methods by which VR can relieve pain by changing users' cognition and perception of pain. Multiple clinical studies investigating VR efficacy indicate that higher degrees of immersion, presence, and agency are all correlated with greater pain reduction. These studies also demonstrate that VR analgesia is effective for patients with various medical conditions and for those undergoing painful medical procedures. Furthermore, the shared biological mechanisms between pain and anxiety suggest that reducing either through the use of VR will reduce the other. As a nascent field of research, VR analgesia has key obstacles to overcome in order to become a mainstream intervention for pain management in hospital settings.
虚拟现实（VR）已成为医院中减少镇痛药使用的一种越来越可行的非药物辅助手段。在持续的阿片类药物流行背景下，VR可作为传统疼痛管理技术的宝贵替代方案。虽然VR研究不断推进，但在用于描述VR关键方面的术语上尚无明确共识。本文介绍了沉浸感、临场感和能动感如何概括VR体验，并研究了VR通过改变用户对疼痛的认知和感知来缓解疼痛的方法。多项调查VR疗效的临床研究表明，更高程度的沉浸感、临场感和能动感都与更大程度的疼痛减轻相关。这些研究还表明，VR镇痛对患有各种疾病的患者以及正在接受痛苦医疗程序的患者有效。此外，疼痛与焦虑之间共有的生物学机制表明，通过使用VR减轻其中一种症状也会减轻另一种症状。作为一个新兴的研究领域，VR镇痛要成为医院环境中疼痛管理的主流干预手段，还存在一些关键障碍需要克服。
