Skip to main content
TTrialFinder
TrialFinder is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. Always talk to your doctor.
RECRUITINGINTERVENTIONAL

Virtual Reality Exposure to Reduce Food Related Anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa

Virtual Food for Real Thought: a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial of Virtual Reality Exposure in Anorexia Nervosa

Important: This information is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

About This Trial

Exposure to food stimuli often elicit aversive emotions in patients with anorexia nervosa, which can perpetuate eating-related avoidance. Exposure therapy has been shown to effectively reduce anxiety toward, and avoidance of, feared stimuli in several psychiatric disorders. Digital technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) have been employed to implement exposure therapy in situations where in vivo exposure is unfeasible, challenging, or perceived as threatening by patients. VR has also the potential to be used by individuals repeatedly in their own time and environment, to consolidate new learning. This pilot randomised controlled study evaluates the feasibility and clinical impact of repeated VR exposure to food stimuli in patients with anorexia nervosa attending intensive daycare treatment (treatment as usual, TAU). VR food exposure will be compared to the use of a relaxation-focused VR scenario (natural environment) and a control condition (no use of VR). Patients in all groups will receive TAU.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: - current diagnosis of anorexia nervosa according to DSM-5 criteria - 14 years or older. Who Should NOT Join This Trial: - diagnosis of neurological disorders - diagnosis of psychosis or substance abuse disorders - visual/hearing impairments not corrected by glasses/ear implants - non-tolerance of exposure to VR (i.e., cybersickness, dizziness) Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language
Inclusion Criteria: * current diagnosis of anorexia nervosa according to DSM-5 criteria * 14 years or older. Exclusion Criteria: * diagnosis of neurological disorders * diagnosis of psychosis or substance abuse disorders * visual/hearing impairments not corrected by glasses/ear implants * non-tolerance of exposure to VR (i.e., cybersickness, dizziness)

Treatments Being Tested

BEHAVIORAL

Virtual reality food exposure

Patients in this condition are exposed to a virtual kitchen environment once/day, for 5 consecutive days (from Monday, day 1, to Friday, day 5). Each session lasts 5 minutes. The VR environment was specifically developed by the study team (Natali et al, 2024) and it consists of a kitchen with foods of different calorie contents. Patients are invited to explore the environment; they can freely move, open the cupboards and the fridge, and grab and hold the foods. Participants can choose to interact with one of three versions of the virtual kitchen environment: a) a kitchen alone, b) a kitchen with a virtual pet which participants can interact with (and aimed at inducing positive mood) and c) a kitchen with a compassionate avatar which motivates the participant to face food-related fears.

BEHAVIORAL

Virtual Reality Nature Exposure

Patients in this condition complete a session of VR exposure to a natural scenario (from the NatureTreksVR app) for 5 consecutive days (from Monday to Friday), one session/day. Each session lasts 5 minutes. Participants can choose exposure to one of three different natural environments, at the start of each session: a white sand beach ("Blue Ocean"), a snowy mountain ("White Winter"), or a forest in autumn foliage ("Red Fall").

Locations (1)

University Hospital of Padova
Padova, Italy, Italy