Bottiroli Sara, Matamala-Gomez Marta, Allena Marta, Guaschino Elena, Ghiotto Natascia, De Icco Roberto, Sances Grazia, Tassorelli Cristina
Faculty of Law, Giustino Fortunato University, 82100 Benevento, Italy.
Headache Science and Neurorehabilitation Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
J Clin Med. 2022 Nov 21;11(22):6876. doi: 10.3390/jcm11226876.
given the limited efficacy, tolerability, and accessibility of pharmacological treatments for chronic migraine (CM), new complementary strategies have gained increasing attention. Body ownership illusions have been proposed as a non-pharmacological strategy for pain relief. Here, we illustrate the protocol for evaluating the efficacy in decreasing pain perception of the enfacement illusion of a happy face observed through an immersive virtual reality (VR) system in CM.
the study is a double-blind randomized controlled trial with two arms, involving 100 female CM patients assigned to the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group will be exposed to the enfacement illusion, whereas the control group will be exposed to a pleasant immersive virtual environment. Both arms of the trial will consist in three VR sessions (20 min each). At the baseline and at the end of the intervention, the patients will fill in questionnaires based on behavioral measures related to their emotional and psychological state and their body satisfaction. Before and after each VR session, the level of pain, the body image perception, and the affective state will be assessed.
this study will provide knowledge regarding the relationship between internal body representation and pain perception, supporting the effectiveness of the enfacement illusion as a cognitive behavioral intervention in CM.
鉴于慢性偏头痛（CM）药物治疗的疗效、耐受性和可及性有限，新的辅助策略受到越来越多的关注。身体所有权错觉已被提出作为一种缓解疼痛的非药物策略。在此，我们阐述了通过沉浸式虚拟现实（VR）系统评估CM患者对观察到的笑脸正面化错觉降低疼痛感知效果的方案。
本研究是一项双臂双盲随机对照试验，纳入100名女性CM患者，分为实验组和对照组。实验组将接受正面化错觉干预，而对照组将置身于一个令人愉悦的沉浸式虚拟环境中。试验的两组均包括三个VR环节（每个环节20分钟）。在基线期和干预结束时，患者将填写基于与情绪和心理状态以及身体满意度相关行为指标的问卷。在每个VR环节前后，将评估疼痛程度、身体形象感知和情感状态。
本研究将提供关于身体内部表征与疼痛感知之间关系的知识，支持正面化错觉作为CM认知行为干预措施的有效性。
