The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 66 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Virtual reality exposure in anxiety disorders: Impact on psychophysiological reactivity
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Anxiety disorders are among the most frequently encountered psychiatric disorders. Recommended treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and/or medication. In recent years, beneficial effects of virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy have been shown, making this technique a promising addition to CBT. However, the ability of VR to mimic threatening stimuli in a way comparable to in vivo cues has been discussed. In particular, it has been questioned whether VR is capable of provoking psychophysiological symptoms of anxiety. Since psychophysiological arousal is considered a prerequisite for effective exposure treatment, this systematic review aims to evaluate the evidence for the potential of VR exposure to evoke and modulate psychophysiological fear reactions. METHODS: PubMed and PsycINFO/Academic Search Premier databases were searched. Thirty-eight studies investigating challenge or habituation effects were included. RESULTS: VR exposure does provoke psychophysiological arousal, especially in terms of electrodermal activity. Results on psychophysiological habituation in VR are inconclusive. Study design and methodological rigour vary widely. CONCLUSIONS: Despite several limitations, this review provides evidence that VR exposure elicits psychophysiological fear reactions in patients and healthy subjects, rendering VR a promising treatment for anxiety disorders, and a potent research tool for future investigations of psychophysiological processes and their significance during exposure treatment.
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“Immersion and presence in VR are believed to enable triggering of strong emotional responses (Wilson and Soranzo, 2015; Miller and Bugnariu, 2016) and more particularly the physiological components of anxiety, capable of provoking psychophysiological arousal in all individuals (Diemer et al., 2014).”
From iSenseVR: bringing VR exposure therapy outside the laboratory (2019) · cites this paper as Diemer et al., 2014
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“VRET has been shown to be effective for FP treatment in several meta-analyses and systematic reviews [28–31].”
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Diemer, J., Alpers, G. W., Peperkorn, H. M., Shiban, Y., & Mühlberger, A. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00026 · Cited by 959
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Metadata
- Authors
- Diemer, J., Mühlberger, A., Pauli, P., & Zwanzger, P.
- Affiliations
- University Hospital Münster (DE)
- University of Regensburg (DE)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Diemer, Julia
- Venue
- The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2014-03-25
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 427-442
- ISSN
- 1562-2975 (ISSN-L)
- 1814-1412
- OpenAlex
- W2093057972
- Cited by
- 146
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 5
- FWCI
- 1.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- H2020 European Research Council
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- virtual reality exposure therapy, anxiety disorders, psychophysiological arousal, fear conditioning, electrodermal activity, habituation, cognitive behavioral therapy, virtual reality exposure, threat simulation
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety Disorders, Humans, Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
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