Showing posts with label virtual reality. Show all posts

Wireless | Fear of Flying

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Psychophysiological Monitoring of Fear Extinction



 An estimated 10% of the general population experiences fear of flying (FOF) and 25% of the population that flies experiences distress during the flight. The most effective psychological technique for the treatment of phobias is in vivo exposure. Using planes in real flights, however, takes a large amount of time and money that is not easily accessible. Virtual Reality Exposure Treatment (VRET) of FOF is now well established but generalization of such treatment in clinical settings is still rare.
Researchers from INSERM Centre of Psychiatry and Neurosciences presented a case report of a 31-year-old woman who was chosen for treatment because of her FOF. She attended a demonstration of the new VR equipment and disclosed her FOF. Researcher’s proposed a VRET as she had to fly in a few months and anticipated high anxiety during the scheduled flight. The woman received six sessions of VRET, delivered with standard BIOPAC VR setup, using the included Virtual Environment (VE) of an aircraft with minor adaptations. The woman was seated in an aircraft chair that vibrated during takeoff and turbulences. Researchers used a standard BIOPAC VR Ultimate system, a high-resolution stereoscopic head-mounted display providing a monocular field of view of 60°, a tracking device in order to adapt the field of view to head movements, connected to a MP150 physiological responses amplifier. Skin Conductance Level and Heart Rate were recorded with BIOPAC’s BioNomadix wireless transmitter-receiver modules connected to electrodes. Results showed evidence of a progressive reduction of the subject’s anxiety in the reactivity to takeoffs and turbulences. A Flight Anxiety Situations questionnaire showed a reduction of anticipation anxiety. The woman succeeded in flying alone three months after completion of VRET. Physiological monitoring may provide indexes predictive of outcome; further research is required. Full immersion rather than the graphical quality of VE is the main driver of the sense of reality experiences by the subject.

Virtual Reality & Neuromarketing

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Immersive virtual reality environments can unlock physical boundaries and budget limits.
Applications for VR protocols are varied and include Psychology, Ergonomics, Neuromarketing & Neuroeconomics (Consumer Research), Biomechanics & Kinesiology, Healthcare, Computer Modeling/Simulation, Education, and Training: hazard, medical, etc.
virtual reality
Researchers can immerse subjects in a VR world and record physiological data as the virtual environment influences the subject. A feedback loop can be included for greater control and automation of the VR world. This allows the world to change in real time, based on the subject’s responses. Timing events are used for analysis of the physiological data. Eye tracking can be added to the headmounted VR display to track the subjects’ eyes as they view the immersive environment during the experiment, and position tracking can also be included.


Wireless transmitters, EEG caps, and eyetrackers have been used to capture data from mobile subjects in actual environments, but virtual reality expands the research potential by allowing participants to be immersed in variable, simulated environments with an incredible degree of realism. For instance, neuromarketers can allow subjects to smell and feel multiple products and move through different display configurations, or psychologists can choose appropriate environments to study phobias such as flying or public speaking.
At the first Neuromarketing World Forum (2012, Amsterdam), the challenge and potential of enhancing market research with neuromarketing tools was discussed, and virtual reality immersive techniques were recognized as valuable tools for measuring affective states while modifying product presentation. The value of capturing synchronized physiological data (heart rate, HR, ECG, EDA), brain response (EEG, fMRI, fNIR), and behavior metrics (eye tracking, position tracking) was also discussed.
Turnkey VR/ Immersive systems from BIOPAC are easily combined with wireless physiology data to synchronize VR events with physiological response data. Neuromarketers and other researchers can record any combination of signals (ECG, EEG, EOG, EMG, EGG, EDA, temperature, respiration, pulse, etc.) and include multimodal stimulation with visual, auditory, olfactory, haptic, or electric stimulus. Remote Monitoring options provide subjects with a greater degree of freedom and allow them to move around within the virtual world.

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