•Interoception seems to play an important role in chronic pain conditions.•Chronic pain subjects exhibit lower interoceptive accuracy than healthy controls.•Interoceptive accuracy seems to negatively ...correlate to symptoms severity.•Chronic pain treatments may benefit from further studies in the interoceptive field.
Interoception is the sense of the physiological condition of the body. Modern definitions differentiated three separated sub-constructs: accuracy (IAc), i.e., the ability to detect physiological states, sensibility (IAs), i.e., a self-evaluated measure of interoception, and awareness (IAw) i.e., a metacognitive awareness of the accuracy. Preliminary researches correlated pain with alterations in the interoceptive matrix albeit, to the best of our knowledge, interoceptive alterations in chronic pain conditions have never been studied systematically. We searched for studies that assessed interoception in subjects with chronic pain and compared it to healthy population. Eleven studies were included among different chronic pain conditions. Results suggested that chronic pain subjects might present low IAc and, allegedly, that IAc negatively correlates with symptoms severity in specific disorders. Data were inconclusive for IAs and IAw. The high risk of bias across multiple dimensions suggests to consider these conclusions with cautions. Nonetheless, deficits in interoceptive processes indicate a promising path for new form of therapies, and they require further attention and a more defined line of research.
How best to measure memory in a reliable and valid way has been intensely debated in neuropsychological literature. Specifically, classical neuropsychological tests often fail to predict real-life ...performance or capture the multifaceted nature of memory function. To solve these issues, there has been a growing emphasis on the use of more ecological memory assessment. In this scenario, several virtual reality based tools have been developed to evaluate memory function. The aim of the current perspective is to discuss critically the possibilities offered for episodic memory assessment by one of the most innovative trends in the technology field, i.e., 360° videos. Immersivity, egocentric view and realism appear to be crucial features of 360° videos enabling them to enhance the ecological validity of classical assessment tools of memory abilities.
•Aging does not affect egocentric navigational strategies, whereas allocentric and switching abilities show a gradual decline.•A general age-related weakening of spatial memory has been observed, ...even if not frame-specific;.•Executive functions may play a critical role in age-related spatial difficulties.
Aging affects many aspects of everyday living, such as autonomy, security and quality of life. Among all, spatial memory and spatial navigation show a gradual but noticeable decline, as a result of both neurobiological changes and the general slowing down of cognitive functioning. We conducted a systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies that specifically investigated the role of allocentric and egocentric frames in healthy aging. Concerning spatial navigation, our results showed a preservation of egocentric strategies, along with specific impairments in the use of allocentric and switching abilities. Regarding spatial memory, instead, outcomes were more divergent and not frame-specific. With this perspective, spatial impairments were discussed considering the cognitive profile of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
Computer scientists usually describe virtual reality (VR) as a set of fancy hardware and software technologies. However, psychology and neuroscience are starting to consider VR as the most advanced ...form of human-computer interaction allowing individuals to act, communicate and become present in a computer-generated environment. In this view, the feeling of “being there” experienced during a VR experience can become a powerful tool for personal change: it offers a dynamic and social world where individuals can live and share a specific experience. For this reason, the use of VR in mental health shows promise: different researches support its clinical efficacy for conditions including anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders, obesity and eating disorders, pain management, addiction and schizophrenia. However, more research is needed to transform the promises of VR in a real clinical tool for mental health. This Special Issue aims to present the most recent advances in the mental health applications of VR, as well as their implications for future patient care.
An increasing amount of evidence has shown that embodiment of a virtual body via visuo-tactile stimulation can lead to an altered perception of body and object size. The current study aimed to ...investigate whether virtual reality (VR) body swapping can be an effective tool for modifying the enduring memory of the body. The experimental sample included 21 female participants who were asked to estimate the width and circumference of different body parts before any kind of stimulation and after two types of body swapping illusions ("synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation" and "asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation"). Findings revealed that after participants embodied a virtual body with a skinny belly (independently of the type of visuo-tactile stimulation), there was an update of the stored representation of the body: participants reported a decrease in the ratio between estimated and actual body measures for most of the body parts considered. Based on the Allocentric Lock Theory, these findings provide first evidence that VR body swapping is able to induce a change in the memory of the body. This knowledge may be potentially useful for patients suffering from eating and weight disorders.
Oncological treatments are responsible for many of the physical changes (aesthetic and functional) associated with cancer. Because of this, cancer patients are at high risk of developing mental ...health problems. The aim of this study is to propose an innovative Virtual Reality (VR) training that uses a somatic technique (i.e., embodiment) to create a bridge with the bodily dimension of cancer. After undergoing a psycho-educational procedure, a combination of exposure, out-of-body experience, and body swapping will gradually train the patient to cope with cancer-related difficulties, increasing stress tolerance, and patient empowerment. The most engaging step of this advanced form of Stress Inoculation Training is the body swapping experience, which will guide the patient in embodying a resilient cancer patient who is facing similar difficulties. Through the VR ability to simulate the human brain functioning, and the potential of embodiment to hook to the somatic dimension of illness, we expect that once the concepts endured through the patient’s experience of resilience are triggered, the patient will be more prone to implement functional coping strategies in real life, reaching empowerment and adjusting to the post-treatment difficulties. When the scenarios are built and the training tested, our intervention could be used to support patients with different oncological diseases and who are treated in different cancer hospitals, as well as patients with other non-oncological problems (e.g., social anxiety). Future research should focus on using our paradigm for other clinical populations, and supporting cancer patients in coping with different distressing situations.
The term “regenerative medicine” (RM) indicates an emerging trend in biomedical sciences that aims at replacing, engineering, or regenerating human cells, tissues, or organs to restore or establish ...normal function. So far, the focus of RM has been the physical body. Neuroscience, however, is now suggesting that mental disorders can be broadly characterized by a dysfunction in the way the brain computes and integrates the representations of the inner and outer body across time bodily self-consciousness (BSC). In this perspective, we proposed a new kind of clinical intervention, i.e., “Regenerative Virtual Therapy” (RVT), which integrates knowledge from different disciplines, from neuroscience to computational psychiatry, to regenerate a distorted or faulty BSC. The main goal of RVT was to use technology-based somatic modification techniques to restructure the maladaptive bodily representations behind a pathological condition. Specifically, starting from a Bayesian model of our BSC (i.e., body matrix), we suggested the use of mindful attention, cognitive reappraisal, and brain stimulation techniques merged with high-rewarding and novel synthetic multisensory bodily experience (i.e., a virtual reality full-body illusion in sync with a low predictabIlity interoceptive modulation) to rewrite a faulty experience of the body and to regenerate the wellbeing of an individual. The use of RVT will also offer an unprecedented experimental overview of the dynamics of our bodily representations, allowing the reverse-engineering of their functioning for hacking them using advanced technologies.
We present the architecture and usability evaluation of virtual reality system-"Positive Bike"-designed for improving cognitive and motor conditions in frail elderly patients. The system consists of ...a cycle-ergometer integrated in an immersive virtual reality system (CAVE) which allows combining motor and cognitive exercises according to a "dual-task" paradigm. We tested the usability and user's experience of the prototype in a pilot evaluation study that involved five elderly patients. The prototype was tested in one-session training to understand the limitations and areas for improvement of our system. The evaluation consisted in (i) usability assessment using the system usability scale; (ii) evaluation of user's engagement using the flow state scale; and (iii) expert evaluation involving interviews with domain experts. Results showed a good usability, both for system usability scale and the semi-structured interview. The level of flow (i.e., enjoyment with the task at hand) measured using the short flow state scale, was also high. Analysis of semi-structured interview carried out with domain experts provided further indications to improve the system. Overall, these findings show that, despite some limitations, the system is usable and provides an enjoyable user's experience.
The nature of time is rooted in our body. Constellations of impulses arising from the flesh constantly create our interoceptive perception and, in turn, the unfolding of these perceptions defines ...human awareness of time. This study explored the connection between time perception and interoception and proposes the Interoceptive Buffer saturation (IBs) index. IBs evaluates subjects' ability to process salient stimuli from the body by measuring subjective distortions of interoceptive time perception, i.e., the estimated duration of tactile interoceptive stimulations. Thirty female healthy subjects were recruited through consecutive sampling and assessed for common variables related to interoceptive alterations: depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI-II), eating disorders (EDI-3) risk, and anxiety levels (State Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI). Interoceptive cardiac accuracy (IAc) was assessed as well. Subjects performed verbal time estimation of interoceptive stimuli (IBs) delivered using a specifically designed interoceptive tactile stimulator, as well as verbal time estimation of visual and auditory stimuli. Results showed that IBs index positively correlated with IAc, and negatively with EDI-3 Drive for Thinness (DT) risk subscale. Moreover, IBs index was positively predicted by IAc, and negatively predicted by DT and somatic factors of depression. Our results suggest that underestimations in interoceptive time perception are connected to different psychological conditions characterized by a diminished processing of high salience stimuli from the body. Conversely, overestimations of the duration of interoceptive stimuli appear to be function of subjects' ability to correctly perceive their own bodily information. Evidence supported IBs index, fostering the concept of interoceptive treatments for clinical purposes.
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