Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2025
08:20
Simultaneous Application of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Virtual Reality Exposure
Published on: January 18, 2021
4.0K
Exploring the impact of immersive virtual reality on depression knowledge and stigma reduction: a cross-over RCT fMRI
Wey Guan Lem1, Kelssy Hitomi Dos Santos Kawata2, Hiroshi Oyama3
1Department of Clinical Information Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. vyrolwg@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
Scientific Reports
|March 2, 2024
Summary
Immersive virtual reality (IVR) interventions effectively reduce mental illness stigma and improve depression knowledge by fostering empathy. Traditional video interventions increased distress, unlike IVR, highlighting IVR
Area of Science:
- Mental Health
- Neuroscience
- Educational Technology
Background:
- Mental illness stigma creates barriers to treatment.
- Contact-based interventions with first-person perspective (1PP) and immersive virtual reality (IVR) show promise for stigma reduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of 1PP anti-stigma IVR intervention versus video intervention.
- To assess changes in depression knowledge, stigma, and brain activity (fMRI).
Main Methods:
- Participants experienced a 1PP anti-stigma intervention using IVR and conventional video, focusing on a mild depression case.
- Depression knowledge, stigma, and brain activity (fMRI) were measured pre- and post-intervention.
Main Results:
- Both interventions improved depression knowledge.
- Only the IVR intervention significantly reduced stigma.
- IVR showed neural activity linked to empathy (right superior frontal gyrus), while video showed distress (right anterior insula).
Conclusions:
- IVR is more effective than video in reducing mental illness stigma.
- IVR's effectiveness is linked to enhanced empathic neural responses.
- Immersive technologies hold potential for mental health education and stigma reduction.
