Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37697163›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2024

The effects of virtual reality environmental enrichments on craving to food in healthy volunteers.

Giulia Benvegnù, Alessandro Piva, Camilla Cadorin, Vanessa Mannari, Matteo Girondini, Angela Federico, Stefano Tamburin, Cristiano Chiamulera

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Psychopharmacology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Giulia BenvegnùDepartment of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. giulia.benvegnu@univr.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9182-6558
Alessandro PivaDepartment of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Camilla CadorinDepartment of Neurosciences, Biomedicine, and Movement, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Vanessa MannariDepartment of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Matteo GirondiniDepartment of Neurosciences, Biomedicine, and Movement, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Angela FedericoDepartment of Neurosciences, Biomedicine, and Movement, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Stefano TamburinDepartment of Neurosciences, Biomedicine, and Movement, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Cristiano ChiamuleraDepartment of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
University of Verona · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleEnvironmental enrichment (EE) is a non-pharmacological approach that has been shown to be effective in reducing food-taking in rats. Studies in human volunteers are still in their infancy, given the difficulty to translate the complexity of EE in clinical practice. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising methodological approach, but no study has yet applied it to model and test EE in humans.

objectivesThe present study is the first to assess the effects of virtual EE on craving for palatable food.

methodsEighty-one healthy volunteers (43 women) were divided into three groups: (i) exposure to a virtual EE (VR-EE), (ii) exposure to a virtual neutral environment (VR-NoEE), and (iii) without exposure to VR (No VR). Craving for palatable food at basal level and evoked by neutral and palatable food images was assessed before and after the VR simulation. Behavior during VR exposure and subjective measures related to the experience were also collected.

resultsVR-EE group showed a significantly greater decrease in pre-post craving difference compared to No VR for all assessments and at basal level compared to VR-NoEE. Interestingly, an inverse correlation between craving and deambulation in the VR simulation emerged in VR-EE group only.

conclusionsThe study highlighted the feasibility of exposing human subjects to an EE as a virtual simulation. Virtual EE induced effects on basal craving for food that suggest the potential for further improvements of the protocol to extend its efficacy to palatable food cues.

Indexed as

CravingVirtual RealityAnimalsComputer SimulationCuesFemaleFoodHealthy VolunteersHumansRatsCravingCue-reactivityEnvironmental enrichmentHealthy volunteersPalatable foodVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID37697163
PMCPMC10774167
OpenAlexW4386590431

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.