Immersive virtual environments in cue exposure

• Published in: Cyberpsychology & behavior Vol. 4; no. 4; p. 497
• Main Authors: Kuntze, M F, Stoermer, R, Mager, R, Roessler, A, Mueller-Spahn, F, Bullinger, A H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2001
• Subjects: Adult; Arousal - physiology; Conditioning, Classical - physiology; Cues; Desensitization, Psychologic; Extinction, Psychological - physiology; Heroin Dependence - physiopathology; Heroin Dependence - psychology; Heroin Dependence - rehabilitation; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Monitoring, Physiologic; Motivation; Pilot Projects; Psychophysiology; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - physiopathology; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - psychology; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - rehabilitation; Therapy, Computer-Assisted; User-Computer Interface
• ISSN: 1094-9313
• DOI: 10.1089/109493101750527051

Cue reactivity to drug-related stimuli is a frequently observed phenomenon in drug addiction. Cue reactivity refers to a classical conditioned response pattern that occurs when an addicted subject is exposed to drug-related stimuli. This response consists of physiological and cognitive reactions. Craving, a subjective desire to use the drug of choice, is believed to play an important role in the occurrence of relapse in the natural setting. Besides craving, other subjective cue-elicited reactions have been reported, including withdrawal symptoms, drug-agonistic effects, and mood swings. Physiological reactions that have been investigated include skin conductance, heart rate, salivation, and body temperature. Conditioned reactivity to cues is an important factor in addiction to alcohol, nicotine, opiates, and cocaine. Cue exposure treatment (CET) refers to a manualized, repeated exposure to drug-related cues, aimed at the reduction of cue reactivity by extinction. In CET, different stimuli are presented, for example, slides, video tapes, pictures, or paraphernalia in nonrealistic, experimental settings. Most often assessments consist in subjective ratings by craving scales. Our pilot study will show that immersive virtual reality (IVR) is as good or even better in eliciting subjective and physiological craving symptoms as classical devices.