Purpose Relaxation has significant restorative properties and implications for public health. However, modern, busy lives leave limiting time for relaxation. Virtual reality (VR) experiences of pleasant and calming virtual environments, accessed with a head-mounted display (HMD), appear to promote relaxation. This study aimed to provide a systematic review of feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of studies that use VR to promote relaxation in the general population (PROSPERO 195,804). Methods Web of Science, PsycINFO, Embase, and MEDLINE were searched until 29th June 2020. Studies were included in the review if they used HMD technology to present virtual environments that aimed to promote or measure relaxation, or relaxation-related variables. The Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) quality assessment tool was used to assess methodological quality of studies. Results 6403 articles were identified through database searching. Nineteen studies published between 2007 and 2020, with 1278 participants, were included in the review. Of these, thirteen were controlled studies. Studies predominantly used natural audio-visual stimuli to promote relaxation. Findings indicate feasibility, acceptability, and short-term effectiveness of VR to increase relaxation and reduce stress. Six studies received an EPHPP rating of ‘strong’, seven were ‘moderate’, and six were ‘weak’. Conclusions VR may be a useful tool to promote relaxation in the general population, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when stress is increasing worldwide. However, methodological limitations, such as limited randomised controlled trials and longer-term evidence, mean that these conclusions should be drawn with caution. More robust studies are needed to support this promising area of VR relaxation.

Aim Traumatic events are involved in the development and maintenance of psychotic symptoms. There are few trials exploring trauma‐focused treatments as interventions for psychotic symptoms, especially in individuals with early psychosis. This trial will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a definitive trial of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for psychosis (EMDRp) in people with early psychosis. Methods Sixty participants with first episode psychosis and a history of a traumatic/adverse life event(s)will be recruited from early intervention services in the North West of England and randomized to receive16 sessions of EMDRp + Treatment as Usual (TAU) or TAU alone. Participants will be assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 months post‐randomization using several measures of psychotic symptoms, trauma symptoms, anxiety, depression, functioning, service‐user defined recovery, health economics indicators and quality of life. Two nested qualitative studies to assess participant feedback of therapy and views of professional stakeholders on the implementation of EMDRp into services will also be conducted. The feasibility of a future definitive efficacy and cost‐effectiveness evaluation of EMDRp will be tested against several outcomes, including ability to recruit and randomize participants, trial retention at 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐up assessments, treatment engagement and treatment fidelity. Conclusions If it is feasible to deliver a multi‐site trial of this intervention, it will be possible to evaluate whether EMDRp represents a beneficial treatment to augment existing evidence‐based care of individuals with early psychosis supported by early intervention services.

Virtual reality-assisted cognitive-behavioural therapy (VR-CBT) has potential to support people who experience paranoid ideation in social settings. However, virtual reality (VR) research using overt social environments is limited, and lack of qualitative studies on paranoid ideation in VR restricts understanding. This study aimed to use predominantly qualitative methods to investigate subjective experience of paranoia in VR and identify target domains for VR-CBT. Participants (N = 36) were non-clinical adults with high trait paranoia, who entered an interactive VR bar-room environment.

Differential cross sections for a$ elastic scattering from 60" to 175" center of momentum ( c n . ) were measured at 3.43, 4.50, 5.75, and 6.60 GeV/c incident deuteron momentum. The measurements were made with a two-arm magnetic spectrometer, making use of multiwire proportional chamber detectors. The deuterons were accelerated at the Bevatron of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Data are compared with predictions of the baryon-pickup model and the one-pion-exchange model. The backward dip at 180" c.m. for 4.5 GeV/c, predicted by Craigie and Wilkin using the one-pion-exchange model, is'not observed, but reasonable fits to the momentum variation and angular distributions are found. When the data are plotted against the variable A of the baryon-pickup model, the s dependence is greatly reduced.