@article{bogie_using_2024,

title = {Using virtual reality to improve verbal episodic memory in schizophrenia: A proof-of-concept trial},

author = {B. J. M. Bogie and C. Noël and F. Gu and S. Nadeau and C. Shvetz and H. Khan and M. -C. Rivard and S. Bouchard and M. Lepage and S. Guimond},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85186986986&doi=10.1016%2fj.scog.2024.100305&partnerID=40&md5=a15c598b45b8f44a40b25fe5fd078a06},

doi = {10.1016/j.scog.2024.100305},

issn = {22150013 (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Schizophrenia Research: Cognition},

volume = {36},

abstract = {Background: Schizophrenia is associated with impairments in verbal episodic memory. Strategy for Semantic Association Memory (SESAME) training represents a promising cognitive remediation program to improve verbal episodic memory. Virtual reality (VR) may be a novel tool to increase the ecological validity and transfer of learned skills of traditional cognitive remediation programs. The present proof-of-concept study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a VR-based cognitive remediation module inspired by SESAME principles to improve the use of verbal episodic memory strategies in schizophrenia. Methods: Thirty individuals with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder completed this study. Participants were randomized to either a VR-based verbal episodic memory training condition inspired by SESAME principles (intervention group) or an active control condition (control group). In the training condition, a coach taught semantic encoding strategies (active rehearsal and semantic clustering) to help participants remember restaurant orders in VR. In the active control condition, participants completed visuospatial puzzles in VR. Attrition rate, participant experience ratings, and cybersickness questionnaires were used to assess feasibility and acceptability. Trial 1 of the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test – Revised was administered pre- and post-intervention to assess preliminary efficacy. Results: Feasibility was demonstrated by a low attrition rate (5.88 %), and acceptability was demonstrated by limited cybersickness and high levels of enjoyment. Although the increase in the number of semantic clusters used following the module did not reach conventional levels of statistical significance in the intervention group, it demonstrated a notable trend with a medium effect size (t = 1.48},

note = {Publisher: Elsevier Inc.},

keywords = {adult, article, clinical article, clinical assessment, Cognitive remediation therapy, cybersickness, disease severity, dizziness, Ecological treatment, Episodic memory, exclusion VR criteria questionnaire, feasibility study, female, Hopkins verbal learning test, human, male, mini international neuropsychiatric interview, nausea, outcome assessment, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Proof of concept, questionnaire, randomized controlled trial, schizophrenia, scoring system, Semantic encoding, Semantics, task performance, training, Verbal memory, virtual reality, vr experience questionnaire},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ernst_virtual_2024,

title = {Virtual Reality–Based Exposure With 360° Environments for Social Anxiety Disorder: Usability and Feasibility Study},

author = {M. Ernst and S. Bouchard and T. Andersen and P. T. Orskov and K. Tarp and M. B. Lichtenstein},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85207452707&doi=10.2196%2f55679&partnerID=40&md5=603ff828b152a1cdbc241ab7601a43e5},

doi = {10.2196/55679},

issn = {2561326X (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {JMIR Formative Research},

volume = {8},

abstract = {Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a long-term and overwhelming fear of social situations that can affect work, school, and other daily activities. Although cognitive behavioral therapy is effective, few seek treatment, and many who do start often drop out. This may be due to the component of exposure inherent to cognitive behavioral therapy, where the patient confronts feared stimuli outside the therapist’s office, which they otherwise try to avoid. As an alternative, research has explored the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR)–based exposure therapy with promising results. However, few studies have investigated the feasibility of VR tools using mixed methodologies before assessing their efficacy. Objective: This study aims to assess the usability, feasibility, and presence of four 360° virtual environments and whether these were able to evoke anxiety in patients with SAD. Methods: A total of 10 adult participants with SAD and 10 healthy controls were recruited for 1 experimental session (age range 21-32 y; 12/20, 60% male participants). Questionnaire and interview data were collected and analyzed. A mixed methods triangulation design was applied to analyze and compare the data. Results: Participants with SAD experienced increased anxiety when exposed to VR, and environments were considered relevant and useful as an exposure tool. Participants with SAD reported significantly higher average anxiety levels (P=.01) and peak anxiety levels (P=.01) compared with controls during exposure; however, significant differences in anxiety when accounting for baseline anxiety levels were only found in 2 of 4 environments (P=.01},

note = {Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.},

keywords = {360°, Anxiety, Exposure therapy, interactive, Mixed methods, social anxiety disorder, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ernst_biomarkers_2024,

title = {Biomarkers in exposure-based treatment of anxiety in virtual reality: a systematic review},

author = {M. T. Ernst and J. Hyldig Nielsen and E. Runge and S. Bouchard and L. Clemmensen},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85197316386&doi=10.3389%2ffrvir.2024.1355082&partnerID=40&md5=500a06f8e6489e75933d79342b606762},

doi = {10.3389/frvir.2024.1355082},

issn = {26734192 (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Frontiers in Virtual Reality},

volume = {5},

abstract = {Background: A large proportion of individuals with anxiety-related disorders refrain from seeking treatment. This may be because traditional exposure treatments induce anxiety. However, advances in exposure using virtual reality technology may encourage more individuals to seek treatment. Furthermore, using biomarkers with VR-based exposure may enable clinicians to assess anxiety levels objectively and collect data in a naturalistic setting. Methods: Here, we conduct a systematic review of the literature on the use of biomarkers in VR-based exposure treatment for anxiety. Twenty-seven studies were included, with a total of 1046 participants. Results: We found that heart rate was the only biomarker that tentatively could identify changes within (75% of instances) and between sessions (60% of instances). The levels of synchrony between the findings for overall biomarkers and the results from questionnaires showed inconclusive results. Regarding the levels of synchrony between the findings for particular biomarkers and the results from questionnaires, only skin conductance level was highly synchronous for differences between groups (87% of instances). Conclusion: Based on the present review, biomarkers cannot yet be used reliably to distinguish differences in self-reported symptoms of anxiety in VR-based exposure treatments. Copyright © 2024 Ernst, Hyldig Nielsen, Runge, Bouchard and Clemmensen.},

note = {Publisher: Frontiers Media SA},

keywords = {Anxiety, Biomarkers, Exposure therapy, systematic review, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{linnaranta_views_2024,

title = {Views on a Culturally Safe Psychotherapeutic Treatment by Inuit in Quebec: Co-Design of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Manual and Virtual Exposure Environments},

author = {O. Linnaranta and L. G. Cardona and Q. Seon and A. Tukkiapik and J. Outerbridge and S. Bouchard},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85199212719&doi=10.1016%2fj.cbpra.2024.04.006&partnerID=40&md5=196f0e70c5d372d4384226d9452bc8f8},

doi = {10.1016/j.cbpra.2024.04.006},

issn = {10777229 (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Cognitive and Behavioral Practice},

abstract = {Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) can be combined with virtual reality (VR) to provide culturally safe and remotely delivered emotion regulation interventions. We conducted a co-design process of a CBT treatment manual and complementary VR environments for the Inuit populations from Nunavik. Here, we describe the knowledge gained during the adaptation process on the approach to mental well-being and psychotherapy. We followed qualitative, participatory, and research co-design methods. After an initial concept of VR-CBT, an advisory group made up of 7 adults identifying as or working with Inuit participated in 4 focus group meetings. A thematic analysis of the discussions was carried out. A non-symptom-focused approach with the therapist guiding the individual in empowerment and emotion management was accepted in the advisory group, replacing a symptom-focus. Several CBT in- and between-session techniques were seen critically or rejected, and time for working on a certain theme was increased. Some elements in the proposed landscape were rejected as unsafe, other elements added as culture-specific to increase safety. Future work should confirm broader acceptance and utility. Culturally specific factors play an essential role in acceptance of concepts and approaches used in psychotherapy. Accordingly, they can have an impact on acceptance and attendance in therapy. © 2024},

note = {Publisher: Elsevier Inc.},

keywords = {cognitive behavioral therapy, cultural adaptation, cultural safety, emotion regulation, Inuit, participatory co-design, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{sheehy_development_2024,

title = {Development and Initial Testing of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Virtual Reality Companion for People Living with Dementia in Long-Term Care},

author = {L. Sheehy and S. Bouchard and A. Kakkar and R. El Hakim and J. Lhoest and A. Frank},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85205071099&doi=10.3390%2fjcm13185574&partnerID=40&md5=844732ff858a0d5feb0a95a54093ad4d},

doi = {10.3390/jcm13185574},

issn = {20770383 (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},

volume = {13},

number = {18},

abstract = {Background/Objectives: Feelings of loneliness are common in people living with dementia (PLWD) in long-term care (LTC). The goals of this study were to describe the development of a novel virtual companion for PLWD living in LTC and assess its feasibility and acceptability. Methods: The computer-generated virtual companion, presented using a head-mounted virtual reality display, was developed in two stages. In Stage 1, the virtual companion asked questions designed to encourage conversation and reminiscence. In Stage 2, more powerful artificial intelligence tools allowed the virtual companion to engage users in nuanced discussions on any topic. PLWD in LTC tested the application at each stage to assess feasibility and acceptability. Results: Ten PLWD living in LTC participated in Stage 1 (4 men and 6 women; average 82 years old) and Stage 2 (2 men and 8 women; average 87 years old). Session lengths ranged from 0:00 to 5:30 min in Stage 1 and 0:00 to 53:50 min in Stage 2. Speech recognition issues and a limited repertoire of questions limited acceptance in Stage 1. Enhanced conversational ability in Stage 2 led to intimate and meaningful conversations with many participants. Many users found the head-mounted display heavy. There were no complaints of simulator sickness. The virtual companion was best suited to PLWD who could engage in reciprocal conversation. After Stage 2, response latency was identified as an opportunity for improvement in future versions. Conclusions: Virtual reality and artificial intelligence can be used to create a virtual companion that is acceptable and enjoyable to some PLWD living in LTC. Ongoing innovations in hardware and software will allow future iterations to provide more natural conversational interaction and an enhanced social experience. © 2024 by the authors.},

note = {Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)},

keywords = {aged, article, Artificial intelligence, cognitive decline, cognitive impairment, compassion, conversation, dementia, Elderly, female, human, large language models, long term care, long-term care, major clinical study, male, program acceptability, program feasibility, reaction time, reminiscence, speech discrimination, very elderly, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{stassart_impact_2024,

title = {Impact of Virtual Reality-Delivered Biofeedback and Yoga on Pediatric Headaches: A Pilot Study},

author = {C. Stassart and G. Dupuis and S. Bouchard},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85195584438&doi=10.1037%2fcpp0000521&partnerID=40&md5=292accc02c49dd8e5f1689bde694ce32},

doi = {10.1037/cpp0000521},

issn = {21694826 (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology},

volume = {12},

number = {2},

pages = {157–269},

abstract = {Objectives: This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of two types of innovative approaches, namely biofeedback-assisted relaxation in virtual reality ([VR]-delivered bio feedback) and yoga in the management of pediatric headaches. The secondary aim was to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of both interventions. Method: Children were randomized to three conditions: waiting list, yoga, and VR-delivered biofeedback. Feasibility was assessed by applicability to the pain problem, and acceptability by attendance (missed ses sions, dropout rate) and the use of learned strategies in everyday life. Preliminary efficacy wasevaluatedwithquestionnaires: frequencyofheadaches, functional disabilities,pain anx iety, and pain catastrophizing. Meanscale scores postintervention and two months afterward were compared with the baseline with repeated-measures analyses of variance and contrast analyses. Results: A total of 46 children were enrolled; 39 completed the questionnaires at the baseline and participated in interventions. Regarding feasibility, the safety of the inter ventions seems demonstrated by the absence or infrequency of headaches during sessions. Regarding acceptability, compliance with the sessions was excellent for VR-delivered bio feedback condition and satisfactory for yoga. Most of the children reported using the strat egies learned in daily life, even after the interventions. Regarding efficacy, participants reported significantly fewer headaches and functional disabilities postintervention and 2 months later. Minimal or noeffects were observed onpain anxietyandpain catastrophizing. Conclusion: This pilot study indicates that VR-delivered biofeedback and yoga exercises may be feasible and acceptable interventions for the treatment of pediatric headaches. © 2024 American Psychological Association},

note = {Publisher: American Psychological Association},

keywords = {Biofeedback, pediatric headaches, virtual reality, yoga},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{joudeh_predicting_2024,

title = {Predicting the Arousal and Valence Values of Emotional States Using Learned, Predesigned, and Deep Visual Features †},

author = {I. O. Joudeh and A. -M. Cretu and S. Bouchard},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85198382238&doi=10.3390%2fs24134398&partnerID=40&md5=cefa8b2e2c044d02f99662af350007db},

doi = {10.3390/s24134398},

issn = {14248220 (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Sensors},

volume = {24},

number = {13},

abstract = {The cognitive state of a person can be categorized using the circumplex model of emotional states, a continuous model of two dimensions: arousal and valence. The purpose of this research is to select a machine learning model(s) to be integrated into a virtual reality (VR) system that runs cognitive remediation exercises for people with mental health disorders. As such, the prediction of emotional states is essential to customize treatments for those individuals. We exploit the Remote Collaborative and Affective Interactions (RECOLA) database to predict arousal and valence values using machine learning techniques. RECOLA includes audio, video, and physiological recordings of interactions between human participants. To allow learners to focus on the most relevant data, features are extracted from raw data. Such features can be predesigned, learned, or extracted implicitly using deep learners. Our previous work on video recordings focused on predesigned and learned visual features. In this paper, we extend our work onto deep visual features. Our deep visual features are extracted using the MobileNet-v2 convolutional neural network (CNN) that we previously trained on RECOLA’s video frames of full/half faces. As the final purpose of our work is to integrate our solution into a practical VR application using head-mounted displays, we experimented with half faces as a proof of concept. The extracted deep features were then used to predict arousal and valence values via optimizable ensemble regression. We also fused the extracted visual features with the predesigned visual features and predicted arousal and valence values using the combined feature set. In an attempt to enhance our prediction performance, we further fused the predictions of the optimizable ensemble model with the predictions of the MobileNet-v2 model. After decision fusion, we achieved a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.1140, a Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC) of 0.8000, and a concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.7868 on arousal predictions. We achieved an RMSE of 0.0790, a PCC of 0.7904, and a CCC of 0.7645 on valence predictions. © 2024 by the authors.},

note = {Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)},

keywords = {adult, Affective interaction, Arousal, artificial neural network, Cognitive state, Cognitive/emotional state, Collaborative interaction, computer, Convolutional neural networks, correlation coefficient, Deep learning, emotion, Emotional state, Emotions, female, Forecasting, Helmet mounted displays, human, Humans, Learning algorithms, Learning systems, Long short-term memory, Machine learning, Machine-learning, male, Mean square error, Neural networks, physiology, Regression, Root mean squared errors, Video recording, virtual reality, Visual feature, visual features},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{banville_using_2023,

title = {Using Virtual Reality to Improve Nurses’ Students’ Clinical Surveillance in a Critical Care Context: A Psychological Perspective on Learning},

author = {F. Banville and D. Milhomme and A. Perron and J. Pinard and J. Houle and D. Therrien and G. Peguero-Rodriguez and S. Charette and B. -A. Ménélas and M. Trépanier and S. Bouchard},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85182468511&partnerID=40&md5=65f6f32f45ade940105c06386edd7a1c},

issn = {15548716},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine},

volume = {21},

pages = {245–251},

abstract = {Nurse’s clinical judgement is important to provide optimal and safe care, particularly in a critical care unit. Clinical surveillance is an activity that nurses use every day and which requires crucial components to manage patients' risk of complications. To carry out this process, several cognitive functions and psychological attitudes are needed such as information and attention processing, judgement, decision-making, stress, and anxiety regulation. Since 2018, Milhomme, Banville et al. have been working to develop a Virtual Care Unit (VCU), using immersive virtual reality, intended to train future nurses to improve their competence towards clinical surveillance process skills. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to determine the pertinence to use VCU simulation with graduating nurses’ students to improve clinical surveillance skills in a critical care context. Thirteen nursing students were recruited to test the scenario through the VCU. Participants were instructed to carry surveillance process on a specific patient who suffer of an instability after a surgery. An interview guide of 11 questions was used for the data collection. The results show there are 10 facilitating and 9 restricting factors in the VCU that may play a role in nursing students’ learning clinical surveillance processes. Among these elements, four of them have an important link with a psychological perspective: 1) sense of presence; 2) cybersickness; 3) reflexive environment; 4) stress reduction. Results show an important contribution of several cognitive function in the clinical surveillance process learning by the virtual reality technology. © 2023, Interactive Media Institute. All rights reserved.},

note = {Publisher: Interactive Media Institute},

keywords = {article, clinical monitoring, cognition, controlled study, cybersickness, female, human, human experiment, intensive care, intensive care unit, interview, male, normal human, nursing student, psychological aspect, qualitative analysis, qualitative research, recovery room, skill, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}