• Journal of Korean Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.17-22
• /
• 2014

Virtual reality (VR) provides an immersive and interactive 3-dimensional system, which allows an individual to become immersed in a computer-generated situation. VR technology has been administered in the exposure-based treatment of a variety of psychiatric disorders, including acrophobia, fear of flight, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, VR systems have also been developed for the use of research and treatment in addiction. They might have advantages in cue exposure therapy, by increasing the salience of cues, as well as assessments of cue reactivity in addiction. This article summarizes the application of VR in the field of psychiatry. More importantly, it suggests the possibilities of clinical use of VR technology, in the treatment of addiction.

• The Journal of Information Technology
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.45-55
• /
• 2002

Virtual Reality(VR) is a new technology which makes humans communicate with computer. It allows the user to see, hear, feel and interact in a three-dimensional virtual world created graphically. In this paper, we introduced VR into psychotherapy area and developed VR system for the exposure therapy of acrophobia. Acrophobia is an abnormal fear of heights. Medications or cognitive-behavior methods have been mainly used as a treatment. Lately the virtual reality technology has been applied to that kind of anxiety disorders. A virtual environment provides patient with stimuli which arouses phobia, and exposing to that environment makes him having ability to over come the fear. In this study, the elevator stimulator that composed with a position sensor, head mount display, and audio system, is suggested. To illustrate the physiological difference between a person who has a feel of phobia and without phobia, heart rate was measured during experiment. And also measured a person's HR after the virtual reality training. In this study, we demonstrated the subjective effectiveness of virtual reality psychotherapy through the clinical experiment.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.303-308
• /
• 2023

Background: Occupational workers at altitudes are more prone to falls, leading to catastrophic outcomes. Acrophobia, height-related anxiety, and affected executive functions lead to postural instabilities, causing falls. This study investigated the effects of repeated virtual height exposure and training on cognitive processing and height-related anxiety. Methods: Twenty-eight healthy volunteers (age 20.48 ± 1.26 years; mass 69.52 ± 13.78 kg) were recruited and tested in seven virtual environments (VE) [ground (G), 2-story altitude (A1), 2-story edge (E1), 4-story altitude (A2), 4-story edge (E2), 6-story altitude (A3), and 6-story edge (E3)] over three days. At each VE, participants identified occupational hazards present in the VE and completed an Attitude Towards Heights Questionnaire (ATHQ) and a modified State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Questionnaire (mSTAIQ). The number of hazards identified and the ATHQ and mSTAIQ scores were analyzed using a 7 (VE; G, A1, A2, A3, E1, E2, E3) x 3 (DAY; DAY 1, DAY 2, DAY 3) factorial repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: The participants identified the lowest number of hazards at A3 and E3 VEs and on DAY 1 compared to other VEs and DAYs. ATHQ scores were lowest at G, A1, and E1 VEs. Conclusion: Cognitive processing is negatively affected by virtual altitudes, while it improves with short-term training. The features of virtual reality, such as higher involvement, engagement, and reliability, make it a better training tool to be considered in ergonomic settings. The findings of this study will provide insights into cognitive dual-tasking at altitude and its challenges, which will aid in minimizing occupational falls.