Virtual reality based attentional bias modification training for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a feasibility study.

Background: Attentional bias modification (ABM) training is employed to modulate attentional bias and alleviate clinical symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. This study aimed to develop a novel, ecologically valid ABM paradigm based on virtual reality (VR). The intent was to enhance the efficacy of traditional computerized ABM and to preliminarily examine its feasibility in patients with contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: 15 patients with OCD who were currently receiving pharmacotherapy were recruited and allocated to either an ABM group, which received VR-ABM training twice weekly for four weeks (eight sessions in total), or a TAU group, which continued their routine outpatient treatment, including pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and physical therapy. Result: 5 patients in ABM group and 5 patients in TAU group completed the 4-week follow-up. VR-ABM paradigm effectively elicited target symptoms, with virtual scenarios inducing moderate levels of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and anxiety. Notably, all participants in the VR-ABM group reported the program to be appropriately challenging, effectively eliciting obsessive-compulsive symptoms and improving subjective concentration. Conclusion: These preliminary findings support the feasibility of the novel VR-ABM training in OCD and warrant further investigation in larger, controlled trials to rigorously evaluate its therapeutic efficacy.