OBJECTIVE: Smoking related cues may elicit smoking urges and psychophysiological responses in subjects with nicotine dependence. This study aimed to investigate the effect of repeated virtual cue exposure therapy using the surround-screen based projection wall system on the psychophysiological responses in nicotine dependence. METHODS: The authors developed 3-dimensional neutral and smoking-related environments using virtual reality (VR) technology. Smoking-related environment was a virtual bar, which comprised both object-related and social situation cues. Ten subjects with nicotine dependence participated in 4-week (one session per week) virtual cue exposure therapy. Psychophysiological responses [electromyography (EMG), skin conductance (SC), and heart rate] and subjective nicotine craving were acquired during each session. RESULTS: VR nicotine cue elicited greater psychophysiological responses and subjective craving for smoking than did neutral cue, and exposure to social situation cues showed greater psychophysiological responses in SC and EMG than did object-related cues. This responsiveness decreased during the course of repeated therapy. CONCLUSION: The present study found that both psychophysiological responses and subjective nicotine craving were greater to nicotine cue exposure via projection wall VR system than to neutral cues and that enhanced cue reactivity decreased gradually over the course of repeated exposure therapy. These results suggest that VR cue exposure therapy combined with psychophysiological response monitoring may be an alternative treatment modality for smoking cessation, although the current findings are preliminary.
Cues ; Heart ; Implosive Therapy ; Nicotine ; Skin ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Tobacco Use Disorder

A number of recent case reports and series indicate that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can develop after traumatic experience as a comorbid conditon to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These descriptive studies consistently addressed that those patients respond poorly to treatments and had an unfavorable outcome. However, this conclusion was not supported by prospective follow up with objective measurement of symptomatology. This report presents three single trauma-related PTSD patients who developed full-blown OCD concurrently with or after the initiation of PTSD. These patients represent 10% of new PTSD outpatients at a PTSD clinic during one year period and 25% of PTSD patients who had been admitted. In all three cases compulsion seemed to distract or serve as avoidance to intrusive symptoms of PTSD. Despite Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and/or exposure therapy for PTSD together with at least two antidepressant trials for PTSD and OCD, at six month follow-up PTSD partially improved and OCD remained unchanged. This finding is consistent with previous reports from western literature.
Eye Movements ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Implosive Therapy ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder* ; Outpatients ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

In urology technologies and surgical practices are constantly evolving and virtual reality (VR) simulation has become a significant supplement to existing urology methods in the training curricula of urologists. However, new developments in urology also require training and simulation for a wider application. In order to achieve this VR and simulation could play a central role. The purpose of this article is a review of the principal applications for VR and simulation in the field of urology education and to demonstrate the potential for the propagation of new progressive treatments. Two different cases are presented as examples: exposure therapy for paruresis and virtual cystoscopy for diagnosis and surgery of bladder cancer. The article uses research and publications listed in openly accessible directories and is organized into 3 sections: The first section covers features of VR and simulation technologies. The second one presents confirmed applications of current technologies in urology education and showcases example future applications in the domain of bladder treatment and surgery. The final section discusses the potential of the technology to improve health care quality.
Curriculum ; Cystoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Implosive Therapy ; Quality of Health Care ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urology*

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic literature review is to analyze the psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents after disasters. METHODS: We conducted a review of the extant research literature from 1991 to 2015 via a comprehensive search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, PubMed and PsyclNFO databases. The keywords employed in this research included: ‘child’, ‘adolescent’, ‘youth’, ‘disaster’, ‘posttraumatic’, ‘psychosocial’, ‘therapy’ and ‘intervention’. The researchers followed the PRISMA guidelines. A total of 850 articles were screened for their eligibility and fifty-nine were found to meet the study criteria. The final data analysis was performed based on the disaster type, study design, type of intervention, sample size, age, school grade, number of sessions, setting of intervention delivery, providers, approach and parent involvement. RESULTS: Countries worldwide have experienced various kinds of disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, vessel accidents, tornados, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, war, fire, terrorism, and traffic accidents. The types of psychosocial intervention that were conducted after these disasters included: psychological first aid, psychological debriefing, psychoeducation, trauma focused cognitive behavior therapy, eye movement desensitization reprocessing, prolonged exposure therapy, group play therapy and arts therapy, project interventions, school-based interventions and web-based interventions. CONCLUSION: The findings of the systematic literature review suggest that an appropriate psychosocial intervention could be utilized as evidence-based mental health treatment for children and adolescents after disasters.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adolescent* ; Child* ; Cognitive Therapy ; Cyclonic Storms ; Disasters* ; Earthquakes ; Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing ; Fires ; First Aid ; Humans ; Implosive Therapy ; Mental Health ; Parents ; Play Therapy ; Sample Size ; Statistics as Topic ; Terrorism ; Tornadoes ; Tsunamis ; Volcanic Eruptions