Perspective: The Promise of Virtual Reality as an Immersive Therapeutic
Todd Maddox, Charisse Sparks, Liesl Oldstone, Michael Chibbaro, Josh Sackman, Emily Judge, Roselani Maddox, Robert Alan Bonakdar, Beth D. Darnall
Abstract
In this perspective, we discuss the promise of virtual reality (VR) as an immersive therapeutic (ITx) delivery device. We review the neurobiology of learning and show that VR broadly engages multiple learning systems in the brain in synchrony thus having the unique potential to increase the effectiveness and speed of therapeutic change. We examine one application of VR in the delivery of chronic pain management therapy. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of current therapies such as pain education and cognitive behavior therapy and suggest that VR has the potential to deliver self-administered, accessible, low risk, in-home chronic pain therapy. We briefly review effectiveness data from an FDA-authorized 8-week self-administered behavioral skills VR program for chronic low-back pain called RelieVRx®, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the data. We conclude by predicting that ITxs will continue to develop as our knowledge of their effectiveness in treating chronic pain and other mental and physical health conditions grows.