ReviewFrontiers in human neuroscience2014
The use of virtual reality in craving assessment and cue-exposure therapy in substance use disorders.
Review in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 80 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy for Cocaine Craving: an Innovative Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapy for Cocaine Use Disorder (Psychothérapie Innovante COmportementale et Cognitive Pour le Trouble d'Usage de Cocaïne; PICOC)
Multisensory Processing of Alcohol Cues in Young Adult Binge Drinkers
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 190 citations in OpenAlex.
- The use of virtual reality in forensic-correctional psychiatric settings: A systematic review.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review of virtual reality therapies for substance use disorders: Impact on secondary treatment outcomes.The American journal on addictions · 2023Pooled it
- Virtual reality: a powerful technology to provide novel insight into treatment mechanisms of addiction.Translational psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Virtual Reality Technology Use in Cigarette Craving and Smoking Interventions (I "Virtually" Quit): Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Cognitive Training Effectiveness on Memory, Executive Functioning, and Processing Speed in Individuals With Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- Virtual reality and non-invasive brain stimulation for rehabilitation applications: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2020Pooled it
- Evidence on Virtual Reality-Based Therapies for Psychiatric Disorders: Meta-Review of Meta-Analyses.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Virtual Reality (VR) in Assessment and Treatment of Addictive Disorders: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- Neuroscience of Virtual Reality: From Virtual Exposure to Embodied Medicine.Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking · 2019Pooled it
- Virtual reality-based cue exposure therapy reduces psychological craving in men with methamphetamine use disorder: a randomized controlled trial.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Immersive Virtual Reality eHealth Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and Depression in Pregnant Women: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR human factors · 2025Trial
- Effects of virtual reality-based cue exposure therapy on craving and physiological responses in alcohol-dependent patients-a randomised controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2023Trial
- (No) escape from reality? Cigarette craving in virtual smoking environments.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2021Trial
- Disrupting the path to craving: Acting without awareness mediates the link between negative affect and craving.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2020Trial
- Virtual Reality Smartphone-Based Intervention for Smoking Cessation: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial on Initial Clinical Efficacy and Adherence.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- Attentional Bias During a Novel Alcohol Cue Virtual Reality Paradigm.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Treating Behavioral Addictions With Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality: Scoping Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Review
- A computational mechanism linking momentary craving and decision-making in alcohol drinkers and cannabis users.Nature. Mental health · 2026Article
- Virtual reality interventions in the assessment and treatment of alcohol use disorder - a systematic scoping review on methodology.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Development and validation of an open-source virtual reality environment for alcohol use disorder and determinants of cue-induced craving among Indian participants.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Craving is recognized as an important diagnosis criterion for substance use disorders (SUDs) and a predictive factor of relapse. Various methods to study craving exist; however, suppressing craving to successfully promote abstinence remains an unmet clinical need in SUDs. One reason is that social and environmental contexts recalling drug and alcohol consumption in the everyday life of patients suffering from SUDs often initiate craving and provoke relapse. Current behavioral therapies for SUDs use the cue-exposure approach to suppress salience of social and environmental contexts that may induce craving. They facilitate learning and cognitive reinforcement of new behavior and entrain craving suppression in the presence of cues related to drug and alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, craving often overweighs behavioral training especially in real social and environmental contexts with peer pressure encouraging the use of substance, such as parties and bars. In this perspective, virtual reality (VR) is gaining interest in the development of cue-reactivity paradigms and practices new skills in treatment. VR enhances ecological validity of traditional craving-induction measurement. In this review, we discuss results from (1) studies using VR and alternative virtual agents in the induction of craving and (2) studies combining cue-exposure therapy with VR in the promotion of abstinence from drugs and alcohol use. They used virtual environments, displaying alcohol and drugs to SUD patients. Moreover, some environments included avatars. Hence, some studies have focused on the social interactions that are associated with drug-seeking behaviors and peer pressure. Findings indicate that VR can successfully increase craving. Studies combining cue-exposure therapy with virtual environment, however, reported mitigated success so far.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.