ArticleFrontiers in psychology2020
Virtual Reality Body Exposure Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa. A Case Report With Follow-Up Results.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disgust and Self-Disgust in Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Anorexia Nervosa, Body Image Perception and Virtual Reality Therapeutic Applications: State of the Art and Operational Proposal.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Affective-touch experiences and interpersonal space in anorexia nervosa.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2026Article
- Behavioral, neuronal, and physiological facets of multidimensional body image in anorexia nervosa: a scoping review.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Review
- Article
- Qualitative study on the virtual reality-based empty-chair technique in middle-aged South Korean men.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Evaluating Psychological Effects of Amputation Through Virtual Reality Embodiment: A Study on Anxiety and Body Appreciation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Harnessing Immersive Virtual Reality: A Comprehensive Scoping Review of its Applications in Assessing, Understanding, and Treating Eating Disorders.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Article
- Embodiment of underweight and normal-weight avatars affects bodily self-representations in anorexia nervosa.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Exploring How Virtual Reality Could Be Used to Treat Eating Disorders: Qualitative Study of People With Eating Disorders and Clinicians Who Treat Them.JMIR XR and spatial computing · 2024Article
- Reduced body-image disturbance by body-image interventions is associated with neural-response changes in visual and social processing regions: a preliminary study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- The multisensory mind: a systematic review of multisensory integration processing in Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Review
- Inhibitory Learning during Exposure Treatment in Anorexia Nervosa: A Practical Guide.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The neuroscience of body memory: Recent findings and conceptual advances.EXCLI journal · 2023Review
- Virtual Reality-Based Immersive Rehabilitation for Cognitive- and Behavioral-Impairment-Related Eating Disorders: A VREHAB Framework Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Virtual reality in the treatment of eating disorders.Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2021Review
- AN-VR-BE. A Randomized Controlled Trial for Reducing Fear of Gaining Weight and Other Eating Disorder Symptoms in Anorexia Nervosa through Virtual Reality-Based Body Exposure.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Extended Reality for the Clinical, Affective, and Social Neurosciences.Brain sciences · 2020Review
- Validity of Virtual Reality Body Exposure to Elicit Fear of Gaining Weight, Body Anxiety and Body-Related Attentional Bias in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveExposure-based therapies such as mirror exposure may help to improve the results of classic cognitive behavioral therapy in anorexia nervosa (AN). Virtual reality (VR)-based procedures provide interesting novelties for targeting body-related concerns. This study aimed to provide preliminary evidence of the usefulness of a VR body exposure therapy in a patient diagnosed with AN.
methodFear of gaining weight (FGW), body anxiety, drive for thinness, body image disturbances, body mass index and body-related attentional bias were assessed before and after the intervention, as well as 5 months later. Five sessions of VR body exposure therapy were included within the standard course of cognitive behavioral therapy. The sessions involved a systematic and hierarchical exposure of the patient to a virtual representation of her own silhouette, with the body mass index of the avatar progressively increasing in subsequent sessions.
resultsAfter the intervention, there was a clear reduction in AN symptoms such as the FGW, drive for thinness, body-related anxiety and dissatisfaction. Body mass index values rose continuously during the intervention and reached healthy levels. Finally, there was a notable change in the dysfunctional body-related attentional bias. Almost all these improvements were maintained after 5 months, except for the FGW.
conclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to focus on treating the FGW and body-related concerns in AN using a VR-based paradigm. To pursue this study further and assess the effectiveness of this new VR software, larger controlled clinical trials are needed.
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