Study of the influence of virtual reality technology on the psycho-emotional state of healthy volunteers

Study of the influence of virtual reality technology on the psycho-emotional state of healthy volunteers

 

Authors

 

A.S. Sozonov

Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russian Federation; Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Siberian State Medical University” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Tomsk, Russian Federation

O.V. Roshchina

Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russian Federation

M.A. Bykova

Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russian Federation

T.V. Kazennykh

Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russian Federation; Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Siberian State Medical University” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Tomsk, Russian Federation

N.A. Bokhan

Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russian Federation; Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Siberian State Medical University” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Tomsk, Russian Federation

 

https://doi.org/10.26617/1810-3111-2025-1(126)-15-20

 

Journal: Siberian Herald of Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. 2025; 1 (126):  15-20.

 

Abstract

Background. Mental disorders occupy a leading position in modern medicine and bear the burden of significant economic costs associated with the treatment and rehabilitation of patients. Non-drug strategies of assistance have a number of significant advantages, including optimization of medical personnel resources, elimination of the need for the period of selection and titration of drug dosages, as well as avoidance of waiting for the effects of pharmacotherapy. Data are accumulating on the possibilities of using virtual reality technologies for the correction of mental disorders, which makes promising studies aimed at transferring relaxation practices to high-tech platforms. Objective: to study the possibilities of using virtual reality technologies in psychiatry by assessing the effect of the method on the psycho-emotional state of healthy volunteers. Hypothesis. Completing a course of sessions of a relaxation VR scenario helps to reduce the severity of anxiety and affective symptoms, improve night sleep in healthy volunteers. Material and Methods. The study sample included 19 healthy volunteers aged 23 (22; 24) years. The indices of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders were assessed using the following questionnaires: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Sleep Disorder Severity Questionnaires ‒ Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) before the study and after 5 sessions of immersion in a dynamic virtual environment using the PICO 4 PRO hardware and software system and VR relaxation computer programs. The session duration was 15 minutes. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS (V.23.0) standard software package. Results. A statistically significant decrease in indices on all scales was revealed when using the proposed relaxation technique. Conclusion. The use of virtual reality technologies has demonstrated effectiveness in the correction of affective and neurotic symptoms in healthy individuals, which can subsequently be used to develop technologies for non-drug correction of affective and neurotic disorders in personalized patient therapy programs.

 

Keywords: healthy volunteers, psychometric assessment scales, depression, anxiety, insomnia, hopelessness, virtual reality.

 

Article (pdf)

 

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Materials  

For citation: Sozonov A.S., Roshchina O.V., Bykova M.A., Kazennykh T.V., Bokhan N.A. Study of the influence of virtual reality technology on the psycho-emotional state of healthy volunteers. Siberian Herald of Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry.2025; 1 (126): 15-20. https://doi.org/10.26617/1810-3111-2025-1(126)-15-20

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