@article{sheehy_immersive_2025,

title = {Immersive Virtual Reality Experiences can Decrease Pain and Distress in Patients Living in Complex Care},

author = {L. Sheehy and H. Finestone and S. Bouchard and K. Dezeeuw and P. Doering and N. Dunlop and H. Sveistrup},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105023893911&partnerID=40&md5=cf29113c44db0b13e00df2e34acbc141},

issn = {15548716 (ISSN)},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine},

volume = {23},

pages = {272–278},

abstract = {Patients living in complex care (CC) frequently experience pain. The study goals were to assess the feasibility of using virtual reality (VR), and the potential for VR to impact pain, mood, and quality of life in two groups of patients living in CC, those experiencing acute pain during wound dressing changes and those experiencing chronic pain. Participants were offered 30 minutes of immersive, passive VR experiences using a Meta Quest 2 headset, 3 times/week for 3 weeks. Pain and mood were assessed pre, during and post each VR session. Pain, mood and quality of life were assessed before and after the 3-week intervention. Feasibility was assessed after each session. Three women (average age 66.3) with wound dressing changes completed an average of 3.7 sessions (25.5 minutes/session). Two-thirds experienced meaningful declines in pain with VR. Seventeen participants (6 men, 11 women, average age 58.4) with chronic pain completed an average of 3.1 sessions (21.4 minutes/session). Pain was significantly decreased from pre to post VR and pre to during VR. Mood and quality of life did not change. Both groups had low levels of discomfort and nausea, and high levels of satisfaction and immersiveness. Most participants enjoyed the experience and appreciated the immersion. It was challenging to adapt the headset to patients in non-seated positions who could not use VR controllers. VR is a promising modality to manage pain in patients living in CC. More work needs to be done to confirm the results and implement VR in clinical settings. © 2025, Interactive Media Institute. All rights reserved.},

keywords = {adult, aged, article, chronic pain, clinical article, complex care, controlled study, discomfort, distress syndrome, female, human, immersion, male, Mood, nausea, Pain, patient care, quality of life, virtual reality, wound care},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{brideau-duquette_first_2024,

title = {First Cross-Entropy Associated With Virtual Sexual Content},

author = {M. Brideau-Duquette and S. S. -P. Côté and J. G. Pfaus and P. Renaud},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105031273879&doi=10.54941%2Fahfe1004474&partnerID=40&md5=3a1b6f10201659be05b3feebea9c6dfd},

doi = {10.54941/ahfe1004474},

issn = {27710718 (ISSN)},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International},

volume = {119},

pages = {110–119},

abstract = {This study investigates the brain’s response to virtual sexual content using EEG dynamic cross-entropy and physiological measures of arousal. It aims to elucidate the neural underpinnings of “sexual presence”—a state of arousal influenced by personal predispositions and technological affordances. The research integrates concepts of sexual affordances within embodied cognitive processes, suggesting that the brain optimizes responses to minimize free energy when processing sexual cues. The findings show that sexual avatars trigger specific arousal and attention, evidenced by physiological arousal responses. Notably, frontal cross-entropy in the low alpha band decreased during exposure to sexual content, suggesting a more streamlined frontal information transfer during arousal. The results contribute to understanding how virtual environments can induce sexual presence, indicating that sexual affordances in virtual settings significantly influence cognitive engagement and neural efficiency. The study’s outcomes have implications in the understanding of human-machine interactions with virtual content mobilizing sexual cognition. © 2024. Published by AHFE.},

keywords = {Brain entropy, Electroencephalography, eye tracking, immersion, Sexual Presence, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{quintana_engaging_2023,

title = {Engaging in Awkward Social Interactions in a Virtual Environment Designed for Exposure-Based Psychotherapy for People with Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder: An International Multisite Study},

author = {P. Quintana and S. Bouchard and C. Botella and G. Robillard and B. Serrano and A. Rodriguez-Ortega and M. Torp Ernst and B. Rey and M. Berthiaume and G. Corno},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85165033932&doi=10.3390%2fjcm12134525&partnerID=40&md5=7b0f59b46ff7680611d5a64e18909651},

doi = {10.3390/jcm12134525},

issn = {20770383 (ISSN)},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},

volume = {12},

number = {13},

publisher = {Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)},

abstract = {The effectiveness of in virtuo exposure-based treatment of performance-only social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been demonstrated in several studies. However, few studies have validated virtual environments with participants suffering from generalized SAD. The goal of this study is to confirm the potential of a virtual environment in inducing anxiety in adults suffering from generalized SAD, compared to adults without SAD, when engaged in awkward social interactions. Differences between participants from two different countries were also explored. The sample consisted of 15 participants with SAD from Canada, 17 participants without SAD from Canada, 16 participants with SAD from Spain, and 21 participants without SAD from Spain. All participants were immersed in a control virtual environment and in an experimental virtual environment considered potentially anxiety-inducing for individuals with generalized SAD. As hypothesized, results showed that the experimental virtual environment induced a higher level of anxiety than the control environment among participants with SAD compared to those without SAD. The impact on anxiety of each socially threatening task performed during the experimental immersion was statistically significant. In terms of anxiety responses, no significant differences were found between participants from Canada and Spain. However, spatial presence and ecological validity were higher in Canadians than in Spaniards. Unwanted negative side effects induced by immersions in virtual reality were higher in the SAD group. This study highlights the importance for therapists to engage people with SAD in clinically relevant tasks while immersed in VR psychotherapeutic applications. © 2023 by the authors.},

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

keywords = {adult, anxiety assessment, article, Canada, clinical article, controlled study, cultural differences, ecological validity, exposure, female, generalized social anxiety, human, immersion, male, multicenter study, psychotherapy, self report, social anxiety, social interaction, social phobia, Spain, virtual reality, virtual reality exposure therapy},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{jeanningros_validation_2023,

title = {Validation of a Virtual Environment to Induce State Social Physique Anxiety in Women with Obesity and Social Physique Anxiety},

author = {A. Jeanningros and A. Baillot and G. Corno and M. -C. Rivard and A. Aimé and S. Bouchard},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85172809066&doi=10.3390%2fjcm12186065&partnerID=40&md5=27989e0e8e959a373732f11758e997b5},

doi = {10.3390/jcm12186065},

issn = {20770383},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},

volume = {12},

number = {18},

publisher = {Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)},

abstract = {State Social Physique Anxiety (SPA), in contrast to Trait SPA, is triggered by specific situations that elicit SPA. To date, no research has used virtual reality (VR) to recreate a situation that may elicit State SPA. The purpose of this study is to validate a virtual environment (VE) that simulates an anxiogenic situation to induce State SPA in women with obesity and high SPA. The high SPA group consisted of 25 self-identified women living with obesity and high Trait SPA. The low SPA group consisted of 20 self-identified women with low SPA. All participants were immersed in a virtual swimming pool environment for 10 min using a virtual reality headset. After the immersion, State SPA and fear of being negatively judged felt during immersion were measured with self-report questionnaires. A questionnaire assessing unwanted negative side effects was administered before and after the immersion. Using an ANCOVA with Trait SPA as covariate, State SPA was found to be significantly higher in the high SPA group. Fear of being judged negatively was also significantly higher in the high SPA group. Unwanted negative side effects scores did not increase post-immersion in either group. This study documents the validity of a novel VE for inducing State SPA in women with obesity and high SPA. © 2023 by the authors.},

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

keywords = {adult, analysis of covariance, article, clinical article, controlled study, disease simulation, Fear, female, human, immersion, obesity, questionnaire, self report, social anxiety, swimming pool, validation process, virtual reality, visual analog scale},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{simon_assessing_2022,

title = {Assessing attentional bias for alcohol-related cues using eye tracking in a virtual reality environment},

author = {J. Simon and D. Grogna and M. -C. Rivard and M. Heck and S. Bouchard and E. Quertemont},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85139027341&doi=10.3389%2ffrvir.2022.849840&partnerID=40&md5=22d08446b9b6bf184867d77efa11932a},

doi = {10.3389/frvir.2022.849840},

issn = {26734192 (ISSN)},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-01-01},

journal = {Frontiers in Virtual Reality},

volume = {3},

publisher = {Frontiers Media S.A.},

abstract = {Several experimental paradigms were developed to measure attentional biases towards alcohol-related cues. However, most of them are based on reaction times to two-dimensional stimuli displayed on a computer screen, such that their ecological validity has been questioned. To address this, we integrated an eye tracking system into a virtual reality headset (ET-VR) and measured attentional biases in a subclinical population of alcohol users. In this exploratory study, forty social drinkers were recruited and immersed in a virtual bar including alcohol-related stimuli. Attentional focus was assessed using dwell time and number of fixations for these alcohol-related stimuli as well as for neutral stimuli unrelated to alcohol consumption. The results show that the number of fixations and, to a lesser extent, the dwell time for alcohol-related cues were positively correlated with the drinking motivation of the participants. In contrast, no significant correlation was found for neutral stimuli. In conclusion, the present study shows that alcohol-induced attentional biases can be studied using an ET-VR device in a subclinical population of alcohol users. Copyright © 2022 Simon, Grogna, Rivard, Heck, Bouchard and Quertemont.},

note = {Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.},

keywords = {craving, cue exposure, eye tracking, immersion, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{bouchard_arguing_2021,

title = {Arguing in Favor of Revising the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire Factor Structure When Assessing Side Effects Induced by Immersions in Virtual Reality},

author = {S. Bouchard and M. Berthiaume and G. Robillard and H. Forget and C. Daudelin-Peltier and P. Renaud and C. Blais and D. Fiset},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85119514106&doi=10.3389%2ffpsyt.2021.739742&partnerID=40&md5=83c5198937636133854ac31ad7f749a5},

doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2021.739742},

issn = {16640640 (ISSN)},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-01},

journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},

volume = {12},

publisher = {Frontiers Media S.A.},

abstract = {Two issues are increasingly of interest in the scientific literature regarding unwanted virtual reality (VR) induced side effects: (1) whether the latent structure of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) is comprised of two or three factors, and (2) if the SSQ measures symptoms of anxiety that can be misattributed to unwanted negative side effects induced by immersions in VR. Study 1 was conducted with a sample of 876 participants. A confirmatory factor analysis clearly supported a two-factor model composed of nausea and oculomotor symptoms instead of the 3-factor structure observed in simulators. To tease-out symptoms of anxiety from unwanted negative side effects induced by immersions in VR, Study 2 was conducted with 88 participants who were administered the Trier Stress Social Test in groups without being immersed in VR. A Spearman correlation showed that 11 out of 16 side effects correlated significantly with anxiety. A factor analysis revealed that items measuring general discomfort, difficulty concentrating, sweating, nausea, and vertigo loaded significantly on the anxiety factor comprised of items from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Finally, a multiple regression indicated that the items measuring general discomfort and difficulty concentrating significantly predicted increases in anxiety. The overall results support the notion that side effects associated with immersions in VR consist mostly of a nausea and an oculomotor latent structure and that a few items are confounding anxiety and cybersickness. The data support the suggestion to revise the scoring procedures of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire when using this instrument with immersions in VR. Copyright © 2021 Bouchard, Berthiaume, Robillard, Forget, Daudelin-Peltier, Renaud, Blais and Fiset.},

note = {Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.},

keywords = {adult, Anxiety, Anxiety disorder, article, attention disturbance, blurred vision, confounding variable, controlled study, correlational study, cybersickness, disease association, dizziness, eye movement disorder, fatigue, female, headache, human, hypersalivation, immersion, major clinical study, male, nausea, scoring system, simulator sickness, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, State Trait Anxiety Inventory, stomach disease, sweat gland disease, sweating, Trier Stress Social Test, vertigo, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{dumoulin_are_2020,

title = {Are cognitive load and focus of attention differentially involved in pain management: An experimental study using a cold pressor test and virtual reality},

author = {S. Dumoulin and S. Bouchard and C. Loranger and P. Quintana and V. Gougeon and K. L. Lavoie},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85090185237&doi=10.2147%2fJPR.S238766&partnerID=40&md5=38278e890412e4529b0a740f4a6a881e},

doi = {10.2147/JPR.S238766},

issn = {11787090 (ISSN)},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Pain Research},

volume = {13},

pages = {2213–2222},

publisher = {Dove Medical Press Ltd},

abstract = {Objective: The aim of this study is to assess whether distraction (lack of attentional focus) and attention (cognitive load) are differentially involved in the analgesic effect of virtual reality (VR) immersions during a cold pressor test (CPT). Methods: Thirty-one participants were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions (high and low cognitive load, attention with or without a reminder of the pain stimuli) and performed three CPTs. Pain was assessed based on the duration of the CPT (pain tolerance), a visual analog rating scale of perceived pain intensity during the CPT and the subjective pain scale of the Short form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ). Results: The statistical analyses revealed that VR immersions were associated with less pain compared to the baseline (all p <0.001), but for the experimental manipulations, only the conditions where there was an increase in cognitive load (ie, from low cognitive load at Immersion 1 to high cognitive load at Immersion 2) were effective for increasing pain tolerance (significant Time X Conditions interaction). The interactions were not significant for pain intensity assessed with the VAS or the SF-MPQ. Conclusion: The results suggest that increases in cognitive load play an important role in the analgesic effect of VR immersion, although the combination of attentional focus and cognitive load may be important. Suggestions are given for designing a replication study. © 2020 Dumoulin et al.},

note = {Publisher: Dove Medical Press Ltd},

keywords = {adult, analgesia, analgesic activity, article, attention, clinical article, Cognitive load, cold pressor test, controlled study, CPT, Distraction, experimental study, female, human, immersion, male, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Pain, pain intensity, pain threshold, randomized controlled trial, rating scale, replication study, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{simon_alcohol_2020,

title = {Alcohol Craving in Heavy and Occasional Alcohol Drinkers After Cue Exposure in a Virtual Environment: The Role of the Sense of Presence},

author = {J. Simon and A. -M. Etienne and S. Bouchard and E. Quertemont},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85083289867&doi=10.3389%2ffnhum.2020.00124&partnerID=40&md5=3ea6b9154dfcdcb4b4de0accc4ca0126},

doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2020.00124},

issn = {16625161 (ISSN)},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience},

volume = {14},

publisher = {Frontiers Media S.A.},

abstract = {The development of new technologies, and more specifically the opportunity to immerse participants in virtual controlled environments, provides a new ecological framework for researchers to study complex behaviors. This experiment aimed to compare post-immersion craving in occasional and heavy alcohol drinkers. Twenty-two occasional drinkers and eighteen heavy drinkers were recruited and immersed in a virtual bar, including alcoholic beverages. After the exposure, heavy drinkers reported a significantly higher craving than occasional drinkers. Post-immersion alcohol craving was significantly related to the levels of perceived ecological validity of the virtual environment. Finally, a moderation analysis suggested that the levels of craving more strongly increased with perceived ecological validity in heavy drinkers than in occasional drinkers. Therefore, the perceived ecological validity was an important experimental parameter to study craving in a virtual environment. These results further suggested that virtual reality might be a useful tool for both the scientific study of alcohol addiction and the treatment of alcohol dependence and relapse. © Copyright © 2020 Simon, Etienne, Bouchard and Quertemont.},

note = {Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.},

keywords = {adult, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, alcoholic beverage, article, association, clinical article, controlled study, craving, cue exposure, environmental exposure, female, heavy drinking, human, immersion, male, people by drinking status, Sensation, sense of presence, social drinker, validity, virtual reality, Young Adult},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{bouchard_modes_2014,

title = {Modes of immersion and stress induced by commercial (off-the-shelf) 3D games},

author = {S. Bouchard and F. Bernier and É. Boivin and T. Guitard and M. Laforest and S. Dumoulin and G. Robillard},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84928156971&doi=10.1177%2f1548512912446359&partnerID=40&md5=59116f3611c07948453d1cb5e474dfbb},

doi = {10.1177/1548512912446359},

issn = {15485129},

year  = {2014},

date = {2014-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation},

volume = {11},

number = {4},

pages = {339–352},

publisher = {SAGE Publications Inc.},

abstract = {Developing a stress-management training (SMT) system and protocol for soldiers can help them cope better with stress experienced in theatre operations. Using 3D horror games in virtual reality (VR) can present an attractive simulation method for soldiers. This study was conducted to find out whether it is possible to stress soldiers moderately using VR and which technology is more efficient to do so. A total of 47 soldiers returning from Afghanistan played two 3D firstperson shooter (FPS)/horror games (Killing Floor and Left 4 Dead) on three different types of immersive technologies (a 22-inch stereoscopic monitor, a 73-inch stereoscopic TV and a CAVE™). As a control and reference comparison of induced stress, participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a standardized stress-inducing procedure. Results were supporting of our work, devising an effective low-cost and high-buy-in approach to assist in teaching and practicing stress-management skills. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed statistically significant increases in the soldiers’ respiration rates and heart rates while playing the 3D games and during the TSSTs. No significant interactions were found. Increases in physiological arousal among the soldiers were significant when comparing the baseline to the immersion and to the TSST, but not when comparing both stressors. Immersion in 3D games is proposed as a practical and cost-effective option to create a context that allows practicing SMT. © 2013 The Society for Modeling.},

note = {Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.},

keywords = {3-D videos, Commercial off-the-shelf, Cost effectiveness, Human computer interaction, Human resource management, immersion, Physiological change, physiology, Serious games, Soldiers, Stereo image processing, Stress management, Stress test, Stresses, Stressful emotions, Three dimensional computer graphics, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{renaud_presence_2007,

title = {Presence as determined by fractal perceptual-motor dynamics},

author = {P. Renaud and S. Chartier and G. Albert and J. Décarie and L. -G. Cournoyer and S. Bouchard},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-33847713017&doi=10.1089%2fcpb.2006.9983&partnerID=40&md5=c1c6df654279a13b1553e9cfbf43acd0},

doi = {10.1089/cpb.2006.9983},

issn = {10949313},

year  = {2007},

date = {2007-01-01},

journal = {Cyberpsychology and Behavior},

volume = {10},

number = {1},

pages = {122–130},

abstract = {This paper presents a tentative model of the role of perceptual-motor dynamics in the emergence of the feeling of presence. A new method allowing the measure of how gaze probes three-dimensional space in immersion is used to support this model. Fractal computations of gaze behavior are shown to be more effective titan standard computations of eye movements in predicting presence. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.},

keywords = {adult, article, eye movement, Eye movements, female, gaze, human, Humans, immersion, male, mathematical computing, motor performance, perceptual motor dynamics, Psychomotor Performance, simulation, Social Environment, Social Perception, standard, three dimensional imaging, User-Computer Interface, virtual reality modeling language, Visual Perception},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}