The usability of virtual reality to train individuals in responding to behaviors related to dementia.

Introduction: Dementia is associated with several behavioral changes globally referred to as (BPSD) of which many are recognized to be the expression of unmet needs triggered by environmental factors. BPSD are an extreme source of stress for family care partners and health care providers alike and can be the reason why people living with dementia (PLWD) are placed in long-term care homes (LTCH). The overall goal of this project was to examine whether a virtual environment that includes a virtual LTCH resident with dementia in a lifelike situation could be useful and usable for health care providers and care partners to identify potential triggers to BPSDs while being engaged emotionally with the scenario.

Using virtual reality to improve verbal episodic memory in schizophrenia: A proof-of-concept trial.

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with impairments in verbal episodic memory. Strategy for Semantic Association Memory (SESAME) training represents a promising cognitive remediation program to improve verbal episodic memory. Virtual reality (VR) may be a novel tool to increase the ecological validity and transfer of learned skills of traditional cognitive remediation programs.

Validation of a Virtual Environment to Induce State Social Physique Anxiety in Women with Obesity and Social Physique Anxiety.

State Social Physique Anxiety (SPA), in contrast to Trait SPA, is triggered by specific situations that elicit SPA. To date, no research has used virtual reality (VR) to recreate a situation that may elicit State SPA. The purpose of this study is to validate a virtual environment (VE) that simulates an anxiogenic situation to induce State SPA in women with obesity and high SPA.

Providing Psychological and Emotional Support After Perinatal Loss: Protocol for a Virtual Reality-Based Intervention.

The loss of an infant during the perinatal period has been recognized as a complex and potentially traumatic life event and can have a significant impact on women's mental health. However, often times, psychological aftercare is typically not offered, and manualized interventions are rarely used in clinical care practice and have seldom been evaluated. In recent years, a growing number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) interventions to facilitate the expression and coping with emotions linked to a traumatic event.