Another Way to Treat Alcoholism?
A recent study in South Korea showed the potential role virtual reality can play in helping those who struggle with alcohol dependence. This study was led by senior researcher Doug Hyun Han, of the Chang-Ang University Hospital. Though the study had a relatively small number of people tested, those people were found to be craving less alcohol than when the virtual reality testing began. It’s a beginning step to what could hopefully be a technological breakthrough in helping those who struggle with addiction.
What Occurred In the Study?
Han and his team’s study had 12 patients being tested. For five weeks, these 12 people, who were being treated for their dependence, underwent a total of 10 virtual reality therapy sessions, broken down into two sessions a week. In these sessions, the patients were faced with three separate virtual realities. The first scene they were dealt was a calming environment meant to relax the patient. The second scene confronted alcoholics with a simulation of a restaurant in which others were drinking, which was referred to as a high-risk situation wherein cravings could possibly be triggered. The third virtual reality the patients were confronted with is known as an aversive situation, as they were subjected to both the sight and sound of drinking too much. Vomit was, unsurprisingly, heavily featured in this situation meant to showcase the least appealing and lowest points of heavy drinking. The simulation even involved a drink that tasted like vomit.
The researchers had the patients undergo PET ad CT scans both before the virtual reality therapy began and after the five weeks had been completed. What they found in the second scan was that the patients’ limbic circuits in the brain had seen a decrease in activity. The metabolism of the brain had also slowed down. Han theorized that this could result in a reduced craving for alcohol.
What Does This Mean Going Forward?
This study has the potential to be a big step in the treatment of dependence, but even the researchers themselves warn to not get ahead of ourselves. Larger studies will need to be done going forward. But optimism is strong in the researchers after their virtual reality findings.
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Can Virtual Reality Treat Alcoholism?
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