Social, proximal and conditioned threat

Rosén, Jörgen; Kastrati, Gránit; Åhs, Fredrik

doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2017.05.014

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In fear research, the use of virtual reality headsets has become increasingly popular. This novel technology is useful when studying defensive responses to threats in humans, especially when investigating defensive responses that depends on egocentric distance to threats 2,4,15 . One key difference between displaying stimuli in virtual reality compared to a computer display is that the visual experience becomes immersive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of immersive virtual reality on proximal and conditioned threat

Rosén

Kastrati

Reppling

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Virtual reality lets the user be immersed in a 3-dimensional environment, which can enhance certain emotional responses to stimuli relative to experiencing them on a flat computer screen. We here tested whether displaying two different types of threats in immersive virtual reality enhanced threat related autonomic responses measured by skin conductance responses (SCRs). We studied innate and learned threat responses because these types of threats have been shown to depend on different neural circuits in animals. Therefore, it is possible that immersive virtual reality may modulate one of these threats but not the other. Innate threat responses were provoked by the sudden appearance of characters at proximal egocentric distance, which were compared to the sudden appearance of distant characters (proximal threat). Learned threat responses were studied by conditioning two of the characters to an electric shock (conditioned threat) and contrasting SCRs to these characters with SCRs to two other characters that were never paired with shock. We found that displaying stimuli in immersive virtual reality enhanced proximal threat responses but not conditioned threat responses. Findings show that immersive virtual reality can enhance an innate type of threat responses without affecting a learned threat response, suggesting that separate neural pathways serve these threat responses.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of immersive virtual reality on proximal and conditioned threat

Rosén

Kastrati

Reppling

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…A possible limitation in the current study was the relatively low number of males when compared to females in the sample. While the distribution of male and female participants is not equal, previous studies have not suggested that gender influences skin conductance and pupil dilation in response to threat (e.g., Partala and Surakka, 2003 ; Bianchin and Angrilli, 2012 ; Rosén et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Unlike previous studies demonstrating a fear response to spiders via stimuli presented on a computer monitor (Miltner et al, 2005 ; Rinck et al, 2005 ; Rinck and Becker, 2006 ; Gerdes et al, 2008 ), a Virtual Lab allows the physical distance of the spider to be manipulated in a standardized way (near or far from the participant) offering a high degree of control over stimuli presentations. We have previously shown the robust increase in SCR to proximal objects displayed in immersive virtual reality (Rosén et al, 2017 ). Additionally, half of the participants were immersed in a photo-realistic virtual environment of the exact same real-world laboratory room that they were physically seated in.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Means and standard deviations are reported in Table 1 . Our primary interest was the autonomic response in the near approach based on the previous findings that indicate increased autonomic response to proximal stimuli when compared to distant ones (Rosén et al, 2017 ); therefore, only those results are reported here. The results for the appearance and far approach can be found in the Supplementary Materials .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The immersion and accessibility of VR has already been applied in many experiments and labs around the world. VR has been used to experimentally examine autonomic responses to social, proximal, and conditional threat (Rosén et al, 2017 ), and a recent review of 27 meta-analyses and systematic reviews (Riva et al, 2016 ) demonstrate that VR has been used in a large array of clinical settings (including anxiety disorders, Gorini and Riva, 2008 ; stress-related disorders, Botella et al, 2015 ; phobias, Parsons and Rizzo, 2008 ; panic disorders, Opriş et al, 2012 ; addiction, Hone-Blanchet et al, 2014 ; body-image disorders, Ferrer-García and Gutiérrez-Maldonado, 2012 ; autistic spectrum disorder, Aresti-Bartolome and Garcia-Zapirain, 2014 ). To date, the dependent variable being assessed in these studies are not derived from the VR device but measured outside of VR by external devices (e.g., Slater et al, 2010 ), clinical assessment (e.g., Carlin et al, 1997 ), or self-report surveys (e.g., Botella et al, 1998 ) requiring the participants to perform these studies in a lab with trained experimenters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Immersive Virtual Reality Lab: Possibilities for Remote Experimental Manipulations of Autonomic Activity on a Large Scale

et al. 2018

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There is a need for large-scale remote data collection in a controlled environment, and the in-home availability of virtual reality (VR) and the commercial availability of eye tracking for VR present unique and exciting opportunities for researchers. We propose and provide a proof-of-concept assessment of a robust system for large-scale in-home testing using consumer products that combines psychophysiological measures and VR, here referred to as a Virtual Lab. For the first time, this method is validated by correlating autonomic responses, skin conductance response (SCR), and pupillary dilation, in response to a spider, a beetle, and a ball using commercially available VR. Participants demonstrated greater SCR and pupillary responses to the spider, and the effect was dependent on the proximity of the stimuli to the participant, with a stronger response when the spider was close to the virtual self. We replicated these effects across two experiments and in separate physical room contexts to mimic variability in home environment. Together, these findings demonstrate the utility of pupil dilation as a marker of autonomic arousal and the feasibility to assess this in commercially available VR hardware and support a robust Virtual Lab tool for massive remote testing.

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A neuroimaging study of interpersonal distance in identical and fraternal twins

Rosén

Kastrati

Kuja‐Halkola

et al. 2022

Human Brain Mapping

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Keeping appropriate interpersonal distance is an evolutionary conserved behavior that can be adapted based on learning. Detailed knowledge on how interpersonal space is represented in the brain and whether such representation is genetically influenced is lacking. We measured brain function using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 294 twins (71 monozygotic, 76 dizygotic pairs) performing a distance task where neural responses to human figures were compared to cylindrical blocks. Proximal viewing distance of human figures was compared to cylinders facilitated responses in the occipital face area (OFA) and the superficial part of the amygdala, which is consistent with these areas playing a role in monitoring interpersonal distance. Using the classic twin method, we observed a genetic influence on interpersonal distance related activation in the OFA, but not in the amygdala. Results suggest that genetic factors may influence interpersonal distance monitoring via the OFA whereas the amygdala may play a role in experience‐dependent adjustments of interpersonal distance.

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Social, proximal and conditioned threat

Cited by 13 publications

References 45 publications

The effect of immersive virtual reality on proximal and conditioned threat

The effect of immersive virtual reality on proximal and conditioned threat

The Immersive Virtual Reality Lab: Possibilities for Remote Experimental Manipulations of Autonomic Activity on a Large Scale

A neuroimaging study of interpersonal distance in identical and fraternal twins

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