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Over the last 25 years, virtual reality (VR) has offered innovative solutions for targeting different key symptoms of eating disorders: from craving to negative emotions, from attentional biases to body dissatisfaction. The present narrative review assesses the existing literature in these areas trying to identify their different levels of clinical evidence. Specifically, the review presents four clinical approaches based upon VR and their implications in the treatment of eating disorders: VR cue exposure, VR reference frame shifting, VR for correcting body distortions and attentional biases. In general, existing findings demonstrate the clinical value of VR. On one side, the present review suggests that two VR-based techniques—VR exposure and reference frame shifting—have a significant research support and provide a possible advantage over traditional cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. On the other side, two emerging VR applications—multisensory body illusions and the use of VR for the modification of attentional biases—even if supported by preliminary data still need further research. SciVal Topics Metrics Abstract Over the last 25 years, virtual reality (VR) has offered innovative solutions for targeting different key symptoms of eating disorders: from craving to negative emotions, from attentional biases to body dissatisfaction. The present narrative review assesses the existing literature in these areas trying to identify their different levels of clinical evidence. Specifically, the review presents four clinical approaches based upon VR and their implications in the treatment of eating disorders: VR cue exposure, VR reference frame shifting, VR for correcting body distortions and attentional biases. In general, existing findings demonstrate the clinical value of VR. On one side, the present review suggests that two VR-based techniques—VR exposure and reference frame shifting—have a significant research support an

Along with deficits in spatial cognition, a decline in body-related information is observed in aging and is thought to contribute to impairments in navigation, memory, and space perception. According to the embodied cognition theories, bodily and environmental information play a crucial role in defining cognitive representations. Thanks to the possibility to involve body-related information, manipulate environmental stimuli, and add multisensory cues, virtual reality is one of the best candidates for spatial memory rehabilitation in aging for its embodied potential. However, current virtual neurorehabilitation solutions for aging and neurodegenerative diseases are in their infancy. Here, we discuss three concepts that could be used to improve embodied representations of the space with virtual reality. The virtual bodily representation is the combination of idiothetic information involved during virtual navigation thanks to input/output devices; the spatial affordances are environmental or symbolic elements used by the individual to act in the virtual environment; finally, the virtual enactment effect is the enhancement on spatial memory provided by actively (cognitively and/or bodily) interacting with the virtual space and its elements. Theoretical and empirical findings will be presented to propose innovative rehabilitative solutions in aging for spatial memory and navigation.

So far, several aspects of autobiographical memory (AM) have been found to be impaired in depression. Among others, depressed patients show the tendency to recall more negative than positive events (i.e., negative bias) and usually retrieve memories that lack of specificity and details (i.e., overgeneral memories). Based on this, we designed an AM task enhanced by the use of virtual reality (VR) to specifically train the recall of positive memories. Using a single-case, multiple baseline experimental design, we explored the effects of a brief intervention consisting of two sessions of this training in a sample of 18 individuals with moderate-to-moderately severe depressive symptoms. According to the results, changes occurred at the short term only. In particular, almost all participants reported a significant improvement in at least one outcome measure 0–3 days after the intervention. However, these clinical gains were not maintained in the mid-term (from day 4 to 10). The present findings do not support the efficacy of our VR-based AM recall treatment as a standalone intervention. Nevertheless, it might represent a suitable procedure to obtain immediate and/or short-term improvements. It might also serve as a valid component to be integrated in broader protocols for patients with moderate-to-moderately severe depressive symptoms.

When facing a negative event, people implement different strategies to regulate ongoing emotions. Although the previous literature has suggested that the emotional intensity of a negative episode is associated with the characteristics of the subsequent autobiographical memory, it is still unknown whether emotion regulation (ER) moderates this relationship. In the present study, we provided undergraduate students with a smartphone-based diary to report a negative episode imme-diately after its occurrence and rate the momentary use of two ER strategies: cognitive reappraisal and rumination. To explore autobiographical memory, two “surprise” recall tasks were performed one week and one month after the event. According to the results, cognitive reappraisal was linked with better memory performances, and a tendency to retrospectively underestimate the negativity of highly intense events was observed only in participants adopting high rates of this strategy. Con-versely, intense rumination was found to be associated with less detailed memories of emotionally intense events, as well as with higher emotional involvement with negative episodes over time, regardless of their intensity. Together, our results support the maladaptive role of rumination and the adaptive influence of cognitive reappraisal on autobiographical memory.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a novel self‐administered at-home daily virtual reality (VR)‐based intervention (COVID Feel Good) for reducing the psychological burden experienced during the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy. A total of 40 individuals who had experienced at least two months of strict social distancing measures followed COVID Feel Good between June and July 2020 for one week. Primary outcome measures were depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, perceived stress levels, and hopelessness. Secondary outcomes were the experienced social connectedness and the level of fear experienced during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Linear mixed‐effects models were fitted to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Additionally, we also performed a clinical change analysis on primary outcome measures. As concerning primary outcome measures, participants exhibited improvements from baseline to post-intervention for depression levels, stress levels, general distress, and perceived stress (all ps < 0.05) but not for the perceived hopelessness (p = 0.110). Results for the secondary outcomes indicated an increase in social connectedness from T0 to T1 (p = 0.033) but not a significant reduction in the perceived fear of coronavirus (p = 0.412). Among these study variables, these significant improvements were maintained from post‐intervention to the 2‐week follow‐up (p >0.05). Results indicated that the intervention was associated with good clinical outcomes, low‐to‐no risks for the treatment, and no adverse effects or risks. Globally, evidence suggests a beneficial effect of the proposed protocol and its current availability in 12 different languages makes COVID Feel Good a free choice for helping individuals worldwide to cope with the psychological distress associated with the COVID‐19 crisis, although large scale trials are needed to evaluate its efficacy.

Over the last few decades, several studies have shown the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of VR-based instruments in the early evaluation of executive dysfunction (ED) in psychiatric and neurologic conditions. Due to the negative impact of ED in everyday functioning, identifying innovative strategies for evaluating ED allows clinicians to detect executive impairment early and minimize its effects. This work aimed to test the usability and user experience (UX) of EXecutive-functions Innovative Tool 360° (EXIT 360°), a 360°-based tool for assessing ED. Seventysix healthy subjects underwent an evaluation that involved 1) usability assessment using System Usability Scale and 2) evaluation of UX using the ICT-Sense of Presence and UX Questionnaire. Results showed a satisfactory level of usability (mean = 75.9 ± 12.8), with good scores for usability and learnability. As regards UX, EXIT 360° showed an absence of negative effects (mean = 1.79 ± 0.95) and high scores in ecological validity (mean = 4.32 ± 0.54) and engagement (mean = 3.76 ± 0.56). Moreover, it obtained good scores in efficiency (mean = 1.84 ± 0.84), originality (mean = 2.49 ± 0.71), and attractiveness (mean = 1.93 ± 0.98). Interestingly, demographic characteristics and technological expertise had no impact on the performance (p > 0.05). Overall, EXIT 360° appeared to be a usable, learn-to-use, engaging, and creative tool with irrelevant negative effects. Further studies will be conducted to evaluate these aspects in the clinical population.

Frailty is a preclinical condition that worsens physical health and quality of life. One of the most frequent symptoms of frailty is an increased risk of falling. It is estimated that one out of three elderly people falls at least once a year, with important consequences both for the autonomy of the individual and for the cognitive functioning and quality of life. To reduce this risk, the Italian-supported (Ministry of Health PE-2013-02355948) Frailty VR project is developing an innovative virtual reality (VR) motor rehabilitation program based on an immersive tool: a cycle-ergometer integrated in an immersive VR system (a four-screen CAVE), which allows combining motor and cognitive exercises according to a “dual-task” paradigm.

So far, several aspects of autobiographical memory (AM) have been found to be impaired in depression. Among others, depressed patients show the tendency to recall more negative than positive events (i.e., negative bias) and usually retrieve memories that lack of specificity and details (i.e., overgeneral memories). Based on this, we designed an AM task enhanced by the use of virtual reality (VR) to specifically train the recall of positive memories. Using a single-case, multiple baseline experimental design, we explored the effects of a brief intervention consisting of two sessions of this training in a sample of 18 individuals with moderate-to-moderately severe depressive symptoms. According to the results, changes occurred at the short term only. In particular, almost all participants reported a significant improvement in at least one outcome measure 0–3 days after the intervention. However, these clinical gains were not maintained in the mid-term (from day 4 to 10). The present findings do not support the efficacy of our VR-based AM recall treatment as a standalone intervention. Nevertheless, it might represent a suitable procedure to obtain immediate and/or short-term improvements. It might also serve as a valid component to be integrated in broader protocols for patients with moderate-to-moderately severe depressive symptoms.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a novel self‐administered at-home daily virtual reality (VR)‐based intervention (COVID Feel Good) for reducing the psychological burden experienced during the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy. A total of 40 individuals who had experienced at least two months of strict social distancing measures followed COVID Feel Good between June and July 2020 for one week. Primary outcome measures were depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, perceived stress levels, and hopelessness. Secondary outcomes were the experienced social connectedness and the level of fear experienced during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Linear mixed‐effects models were fitted to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Additionally, we also performed a clinical change analysis on primary outcome measures. As concerning primary outcome measures, participants exhibited improvements from baseline to post-intervention for depression levels, stress levels, general distress, and perceived stress (all ps < 0.05) but not for the perceived hopelessness (p = 0.110). Results for the secondary outcomes indicated an increase in social connectedness from T0 to T1 (p = 0.033) but not a significant reduction in the perceived fear of coronavirus (p = 0.412). Among these study variables, these significant improvements were maintained from post‐intervention to the 2‐week follow‐up (p >0.05). Results indicated that the intervention was associated with good clinical outcomes, low‐to‐no risks for the treatment, and no adverse effects or risks. Globally, evidence suggests a beneficial effect of the proposed protocol and its current availability in 12 different languages makes COVID Feel Good a free choice for helping individuals worldwide to cope with the psychological distress associated with the COVID‐19 crisis, although large scale trials are needed to evaluate its efficacy.

The term “regenerative medicine” (RM) indicates an emerging trend in biomedical sciences that aims at replacing, engineering, or regenerating human cells, tissues, or organs to restore or establish normal function. So far, the focus of RM has been the physical body. Neuroscience, however, is now suggesting that mental disorders can be broadly characterized by a dysfunction in the way the brain computes and integrates the representations of the inner and outer body across time [bodily self-consciousness (BSC)]. In this perspective, we proposed a new kind of clinical intervention, i.e., “Regenerative Virtual Therapy” (RVT), which integrates knowledge from different disciplines, from neuroscience to computational psychiatry, to regenerate a distorted or faulty BSC. The main goal of RVT was to use technology-based somatic modification techniques to restructure the maladaptive bodily representations behind a pathological condition. Specifically, starting from a Bayesian model of our BSC (i.e., body matrix), we suggested the use of mindful attention, cognitive reappraisal, and brain stimulation techniques merged with high-rewarding and novel synthetic multisensory bodily experience (i.e., a virtual reality full-body illusion in sync with a low predictabIlity interoceptive modulation) to rewrite a faulty experience of the body and to regenerate the wellbeing of an individual. The use of RVT will also offer an unprecedented experimental overview of the dynamics of our bodily representations, allowing the reverse-engineering of their functioning for hacking them using advanced technologies.

Conjure up the image of smart factories that deploy intelligent robots that can learn, think, and act like humans. This inevitably entails high levels of robotic automation: robots that can perform tasks that are not so meticulously preplanned, take decentralized decisions, and perform real-time motion planning. This was the vision of the EU-funded Co4Robots project (“Achieving Complex Collaborative Missions via Decentralized Control and Coordination of Interacting Robots”; http://www.co4robots.eu): factories of the future with multiple robots and humans working together safely and productively on common tasks, such as item pickup, transport, and delivery. The main challenge Co4Robots addressed was the efficient coordination of robots with different actuation, manipulation, and perception capabilities.

This column will try to describe the characteristics of current cyberpsychology research in Europe. In particular, CyberEurope aims at describing the leading research groups and projects running on the other side of the Ocean.

The persistence of the coronavirus-caused respiratory disease (COVID-19) and the related restrictions to mobility and social interactions are forcing a significant portion of students and workers to reorganize their daily activities to accommodate the needs of distance learning and agile work (smart working). What is the impact of these changes on the bosses/teachers' and workers/students' experience? This article uses recent neuroscience research findings to explore how distance learning and smart working impact the following three pillars that reflect the organization of our brain and are at the core of school and office experiences: (a) the learning/work happens in a dedicated physical place; (b) the learning/work is carried out under the supervision of a boss/professor; and (c) the learning/work is distributed between team members/classmates. For each pillar, we discuss its link with the specific cognitive processes involved and the impact that technology has on their functioning. In particular, the use of videoconferencing affects the functioning of Global Positioning System neurons (neurons that code our navigation behavior), mirror neurons, self-Attention networks, spindle cells, and interbrain neural oscillations. These effects have a significant impact on many identity and cognitive processes, including social and professional identity, leadership, intuition, mentoring, and creativity. In conclusion, just moving typical office and learning processes inside a videoconferencing platform, as happened in many contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic, can in the long term erode corporate cultures and school communities. In this view, an effective use of technology requires us to reimagine how work and teaching are done virtually, in creative and bold new ways.

In catastrophic situations such as pandemics, patients' healthcare including admissions to hospitals and emergency services are challenged by the risk of infection and by limitations of healthcare resources. In such a setting, the use of telemedicine interventions has become extremely important. New technologies have proved helpful in pandemics as a solution to improve the quality of life in vulnerable patients such as persons with neurological diseases. Moreover, telemedicine interventions provide at-home solutions allowing clinicians to telemonitor and assess patients remotely, thus minimizing risk of infection. After a review of different studies using telemedicine in neurological patients, we propose a telemedicine process flow for healthcare of subjects with chronic neurological disease to respond to the new challenges for delivering quality healthcare during the transformation of public and private healthcare organizations around the world forced by COVID-19 pandemic contingency. This telemedicine process flow represents a replacement for in-person treatment and thereby the provision equitable access to the care of vulnerable people. It is conceptualized as comprehensive service including (1) teleassistance with patient counseling and medical treatment, (2) telemonitoring of patients' health conditions and any changes over time, as well as (3) telerehabilitation, i.e., interventions to assess and promote body functions, activities, and consecutively participation. The hereby proposed telemedicine process flow could be adopted on a large scale to improve the public health response during healthcare crises like the COVID-19 pandemic but could equally promote equitable health care independent of people's mobility or location with respect to the specialized health care center.

‘BenEssere Mamma’ app is a mobile self-help intervention containing mindfulness meditations and ‘savoring the present moment’ exercises for use during pregnancy. The goal of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of this app in enhancing the psychological well-being of healthy childbearing women. A quasi-experimental controlled study was conducted with 74 pregnant women randomly assigned to experimental group (APP–mobile app and antenatal care) or control group (routine antenatal care). Participants were assessed on their psychological well-being before, after the 4 weeks of use of the app, and after the childbirth, using Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale. Women’s acceptance and user experience with the app were also assessed through an ad hoc questionnaire. Experimental group reported an increase in sense of autonomy after intervention and after childbirth, and greater self-acceptance after the childbirth compared to the control group. Results are promising and future investigations are needed to understand if a more interactive or a longer intervention could lead to more effective results and if other populations could benefit of this opportunity. Furthermore, to take advantage of potentialities of mobile apps for promoting well-being in pregnant women, the integration of these tools within a wide public health project is encouraged.

Recently, there has been a lot of excitement about “social robots,” which appear to interact naturally with people by following programmed rules, triggered in response to human behavioral cues. There are a number of scenarios where they could even replace humans as more convenient or more cost-effective options or in hazardous environments, for example. One potential market is shopping malls, where the eye-catching novelty of robots, combined with a range of customer-focused functions, could increase consumer engagement in this highly competitive environment. Yet, many social robots still fall short of real interaction, often serving as little more than glorified touchscreens. The EU-supported MuMMER project (MultiModal Mall Entertainment Robot; http://mummer-project.eu) has designed a humanoid robot based on SoftBank's Pepper platform, which is able to interact autonomously and naturally with members of the public. Specifically, their robot will exhibit behavior that is socially appropriate, combining speech-based interaction with nonverbal communication and human-aware navigation.

A major goal of artificial intelligence is designing agents: systems that perceive their environment and execute actions. In particular, a fundamental question is how to build intelligent agents. When uncertainty and many agents are involved, this question is particularly challenging, and has not yet been answered in a satisfactory way. The need for scalable and flexible multi-agent planning is particularly pressing, given that intelligent distributed systems are becoming ubiquitous in society. For an agent in isolation, planning under uncertainty has been studied using decision-theoretic models such as partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs). Such single-agent, centralized methods clearly do not suffice for large-scale multi-agent systems. The project PURE-MAS (“Planning under uncertainty for real-world multi-agent systems on multi-agent techniques”) addressed the issue of the multi-agent decision process.

Over the last 20 years, virtual reality (VR) has been widely used to promote mental health in populations presenting different clinical conditions. Mental health does not refer only to the absence of psychiatric disorders but to the absence of a wide range of clinical conditions that influence people’s general and social well-being such as chronic pain, neurological disorders that lead to motor o perceptual impairments, psychological disorders that alter behaviour and social cognition, or physical conditions like eating disorders or present in amputees. It is known that an accurate perception of oneself and of the surrounding environment are both key elements to enjoy mental health and well-being, and that both can be distorted in patients suffering from the clinical conditions mentioned above. In the past few years, multiple studies have shown the effectiveness of VR to modulate such perceptual distortions of oneself and of the surrounding environment through virtual body ownership illusions. This narrative review aims to review clinical studies that have explored the manipulation of embodied virtual bodies in VR for improving mental health, and to discuss the current state of the art and the challenges for future research in the context of clinical care.

In this contribution, we introduce the concept of Positive Innovation Networks (PINs) as a framework to understand processes of co-creation and open collaboration involved in digital social innovation. Drawing on positive psychology, an emerging field focused on the empirical investigation of optimal human functioning, we deconstruct two assets that PINs can leverage to achieve transformative social change: networked flow and positive psychological capital. Networked flow is an optimal group experience that can unlock the creative potential of a PIN by maximizing the 'we-intention' of its members. Positive psychological capital refers to the capacity of a PIN's core team to accrue and spread hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. We show how these positive psychological resources can be measured and developed for improving PIN performance. Finally, we summarize the key traits of PINs and illustrate them through a case study.

The large-scale diffusion of tablets and smartphones in the last decades offered new opportunities to broaden educational strategies. In particular, the Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) emerged as a promising approach leveraging the widespread availability of portable devices. In this study we investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a self-administered MALL homework training based on immersive 360° videos, compared to a training based on not-immersive standard videos showing the same visual content and enriched by an auditory description of the environment. The knowledge of target words was assessed before and after the training. In addition, students’ attitudes toward the technology were assessed before the training. Results indicated that students with a more positive attitude toward technology watched the videos more than those with a less positive attitude. Furthermore, students who underwent the training with 360°videos learned more words than students belonging to the control group, even after controlling for the number of videos views.

Background: Spatial navigation is the ability to estimate one's position on the basis of environmental and self-motion cues. Spatial memory is the cognitive substrate underlying navigation and relies on two different reference frames: egocentric and allocentric. These spatial frames are prone to decline with aging and impairment is even more pronounced in Alzheimer's disease (AD) or in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Objective: To conduct a systematic review of experimental studies investigating which MCI population and tasks are used to evaluate spatial memory and how allocentric and egocentric deficits are impaired in MCI after navigation. Methods: PRISMA and PICO guidelines were applied to carry out the systematic search. Down and Black checklist was used to assess methodological quality. Results: Our results showed that amnestic MCI and AD pathology are the most investigated typologies; both egocentric and allocentric memory are impaired in MCI individuals, and MCI due to AD biomarkers has specific encoding and retrieval impairments; secondly, spatial navigation is principally investigated with the hidden goal task (virtual and real-world version), and among studies involving virtual reality, the privileged setting consists of non-immersive technology; thirdly, despite subtle differences, real-world and virtual versions showed good overlap for the assessment of MCI spatial memory. Conclusion: Considering that MCI is a subclinical entity with potential risk for conversion to dementia, investigating spatial memory deficits with navigation tasks might be crucial to make accurate diagnosis and rehabilitation.

The Metaverse can be defined as a hybrid (digital/physical) environment offering places for rich user interaction. In this view, the main feature of the Metaverse is a twofold link between the virtual and physical worlds: (a) behavior in the physical world influences the experience in the virtual one and, (b) behavior in the virtual world influences the experience in the real one. Furthermore, any change in the physical world is mirrored in its digital representation (the digital twin), and feedback is sent in the opposite direction (i.e., if the avatar is touched, haptic feedback is provided to the physical body). Currently, this is achieved through 3D shared XR worlds, biosensors and activity sensors (from the real to the virtual world), two-way Internet of Things (IoT) object connections, social media, and wearable devices including smartphones (from the virtual world to the real one). Our view is that bridging technologies that simulate both the external world and the internal world (our bodily experience) will allow the simulated, cognitive, and embodied dimension of the Metaverse to merge, thereby transforming it into the ultimate clinical technology. In particular, it will allow for the emergence of Regenerative VR: the integration of external and internal simulated technologies to rewrite a faulty bodily experience and to regenerate the wellbeing of an individual.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with increases in diagnoses at all ages. Due to several age-related factors, older breast cancer patients show particular difficulties in adjusting to breast cancer and its related treatments. One consistent indicator of vulnerability to long-term complications is emotional distress occurring within 3 months of diagnosis. Thus, it is critical to develop early interventions specifically aimed at mitigating distress and promoting emotional wellbeing in older breast cancer patients. By taking advantage of the opportunities of online interventions, the present study aimed to test the efficacy of a 2 weeks e-health stress inoculation training (SIT) intervention on emotion regulation and cancer-related well-being, compared with a control group without such intervention. Twenty-nine women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, who had received radical surgery and who were suitable candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy with anthracyclines and taxanes (mean age = 62.76; SD = 6.19) voluntarily took part in the current study after giving written informed consent. To test intervention efficacy, self-report questionnaires were administered to all participants at baseline, at the end of the 2 weeks intervention, and 3 months after the end of the intervention. Results showed that after 2 weeks of ehealth intervention, patients did not achieve significant change, however, they significantly reduced emotional suppression and increased cancer-related emotional well-being 3 months after the end of the intervention. Furthermore, by monitoring at a distance the emotional experience during the online intervention, we found an increase in relaxation and a reduction of anxiety. Finally, patients in the experimental group reported a good level of acceptance of the ehealth intervention. To conclude, designing and developing eHealth interventions as part of the regular care path for breast cancer patients of all ages represents both a cha

Cognitive Frailty is one of the most common age-related disabilities in elderly. The two most damage cognitive domain in these patients are memory and executive functions. An innovative virtual reality-based training program for the rehabilitation of cognitive frail patients are proposed. The training is focused both on memory and executive functions and is possible to combine the two tasks according to the needs of the patients. The program could be done both with low-end (personal computer) and high-end (CAVE) virtual reality systems to guarantee the continuity of treatment from the hospital to home.

Different studies suggest that Virtual Reality (VR) is an effective tool for behavioural health, with long-term effects that generalize to the real world. Here we suggest that the efficacy of VR can be explained by how it works. Specifically, VR shares with our brain the same basic mechanism: embodied simulations. Different major discoveries in the field of neuroscience suggest that our brain produces and updates an embodied simulation of the body in the world. This simulation is actively used by different cognitive processes to represent and predict actions, concepts, and emotions. VR works in a similar way: through the integration of data from trackers and contents of a simulated 3D world, a VR system builds a model (simulation) of the body and the space around it. Like the brain, the VR system uses the simulation to predict the sensory consequences of the individual’s movements. In this view, the more the VR model is similar to the brain model, the more the individual feels present in the VR world. The paper discusses the potential of this link, by suggesting the emergence of a new clinical approach that uses the simulative potential of VR to exploit/empower (transformation of flow) and/or correct/update (embodied medicine) the predictive/simulative mechanisms of the brain.

Dental procedural pain and anxiety are issues that affect a conspicuous part of the population, leading to a decrease of dental care frequency. The problem affects the patient as well as the dentist, who often has to face a certain resistance by the patients while doing the necessary procedures. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that is possible to reduce this anxiety through the use of Virtual Reality (VR). A group of 7 patients was immersed in a VR scenario during dental treatment in order to distract them from the feared procedure. The results are encouraging and show how VR is capable of insulating the subject from the surrounding annoying stimuli.

A new severity specifier for bulimia nervosa (BN), based on the frequency of inappropriate weight com-pensatory behaviours (e.g., laxative misuse, self-induced vomiting, fasting, diuretic misuse, and excessive exer-cise), has been added to the most recent (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as a means of addressing variability and heteroge-neity in the severity of the disorder. While existing research provides support for the DSM-5 severity specifier for BN in adult patients, evidence for its validity and clinical util-ity in youth is currently lacking. To address this gap, data from 272 treatment-seeking adolescents with DSM-5 BN (94.2% female, Mage = 15.3years, SD 1.7) were analysed to examine whether these patients, sub-grouped based on the DSM-5 severity definitions, would show meaningful dif-ferences in a broad range of clinical variables and demo-graphic and physical characteristics. Analyses revealed that participants categorized with mild, moderate, severe, and extreme severity of BN significantly differed from each other in 15 variables regarding eating disorder pathologi-cal features and putative maintenance factors (i.e., core low self-esteem, perfectionism, social appearance anxiety, body surveillance, and mood intolerance), health-related quality of life and comorbid psychiatric (i.e., affective and anxiety) disorders (large effect sizes). Between-group differences in demographics, body mass index, or age-of-BN onset were not observed. Collectively, our findings provide support for the utility of the frequency of inappropriate weight com-pensatory behaviours as a severity indicator for BN and suggest that age-at-onset of BN is probably more disorder- than severity-dependent. Implications for future research are outlined.

High temperature excursions have the potential to strongly enhance the room temperature adhesion of tokamak dust. Planar tungsten substrates containing adhered nearly monodisperse spherical tungsten dust have been exposed to linear plasmas and vacuum furnaces. Prolonged thermal treatments of varying peak temperature and constant duration were followed by room temperature adhesion measurements with the electrostatic detachment method. Adhesive forces have been observed to strongly depend on the thermal pre-history, greatly increasing above a threshold temperature. Adhesive forces have been measured up to an order of magnitude larger than those of untreated samples. This enhancement has been attributed to atomic diffusion that slowly eliminates the omnipresent nanometer-scale surface roughness, ultimately switching the dominant interaction from long-range weak van der Waals forces to short-range strong metallic bonding., QC 20201026

In recent decades, emotion regulation (ER) has been one of the most widely studied constructs within the psychological field. Nevertheless, laboratory experiments and retrospective assessments have been the 2 most common strands of ER research; thus, leaving open several crucial questions about ER antecedents and consequences in daily life. Beyond traditional methods, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has the potential to capture ER dynamics during the flow of daily experiences, in real-life settings and through repeated measurements. Here, we discuss what we currently know about ER antecedents and consequences. We will compare findings from previous literature to findings from EMA studies, pointing out both similarities and differences, as well as questions that can be answered better with the EMA approach.

How our brain represents our body through the integration of internal and external sensory information so that we can interact with our surrounding environment has become a matter of interest especially in the field of neurorehabilitation. In this regard, there is an increasing interest in the use of multisensory integration techniques—such as the use of body ownership illusions—to modulate distorted body representations after brain damage. In particular, cross-modal illusions such as mirror visual feedback therapy (MVFT) have been widely used for motor rehabilitation. Despite the effectiveness of the MVFT for motor rehabilitation, there are some limitations to fully modify the distorted internal representation of the paretic limb in patients with stroke. A possible explanation for this relies on the physical limitations of the mirror in reproducing upper-limb distortions, which can result in a reduced sense of ownership of the mirrored limb. New digital technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and 360° videos allow researchers to create body ownership illusions by adapting virtual bodies so that they represent specific morphological characteristics including upper-limb distortions. In this manuscript, we present a new rehabilitation approach that employs full virtual body ownership illusions, using a 360° video system, for the assessment and modulation of the internal representation of the affected upper limb in stroke patients. We suggest modifying the internal representation of the upper limb to a normal position before starting motor rehabilitation training.

The growing understanding of the importance of involving patients with neurological diseases in their healthcare routine either for at-home management of their chronic conditions or after the hospitalization period has opened the research for new rehabilitation strategies to enhance patient engagement in neurorehabilitation. In addition, the use of new digital technologies in the neurorehabilitation field enables the implementation of telerehabilitation systems such as virtual reality interventions, video games, web-based interventions, mobile applications, web-based or telephonic telecoach programs, in order to facilitate the relationship between clinicians and patients, and to motivate and activate patients to continue with the rehabilitation process at home. Here we present a systematic review that aims at reviewing the effectiveness of different engagement strategies and the different engagement assessments while using telerehabilitation systems in patients with neurological disorders. We used PICO's format to define the question of the review, and the systematic review protocol was designed following the Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Bibliographical data was collected by using the following bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science. Eighteen studies were included in this systematic review for full-text analyses. Overall, the reviewed studies using engagement strategies through telerehabilitation systems in patients with neurological disorders were mainly focused on patient self-management and self-awareness, patient motivation, and patient adherence subcomponents of engagement, that are involved in by the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional dimensions of engagement. Conclusion: The studies commented throughout this systematic review pave the way for the design of new telerehabilitation protocols, not only focusing on measuring quantitative or qualitative measures but measuring b

VR effectiveness has been tested before in Anorexia Nervosa (AN) with full-body illusion. The embodiment of patients with AN into a different virtual body to modify their long-term memory of the body is a crucial factor for the onset and maintenance of this disorder. In this pilot study, we aimed to test the usability and User Experience (UX) of this VR-based protocol. Five Italian women with AN were embodied in a virtual body resembling their perceived body size from an ego- and an allocentric perspective while remembering episodes of their life related to their body. High levels of embodiment were reported while embodied in a virtual body resembling their real perceived body size for ownership (p<0.0001), agency (p<0.01), and self-location (p<0.01). Results from UX in terms of embodiment and personal opinion collected by the think aloud and patient's interviews show that patients with AN can benefit from using VR as a driver for assessing and modulating body image distortions in patients with eating disorders.

In recent decades, emotion regulation (ER) has been one of the most widely studied constructs within the psychological field. Nevertheless, laboratory experiments and retrospective assessments have been the 2 most common strands of ER research; thus, leaving open several crucial questions about ER antecedents and consequences in daily life. Beyond traditional methods, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has the potential to capture ER dynamics during the flow of daily experiences, in real-life settings and through repeated measurements. Here, we discuss what we currently know about ER antecedents and consequences. We will compare findings from previous literature to findings from EMA studies, pointing out both similarities and differences, as well as questions that can be answered better with the EMA approach.

Altered states—as induced by altering substances or mindful experiences - are connected with higher levels of creativity. Deep-dream 360° virtual reality videos are being used successfully to simulate altered states in participants. The present study aims to pilot-test whether two deep-dream 360° videos with different layers of distortion can be used to stimulate creativity in subjects and evaluate their emotional response. Twenty-eight participants took part in the experiment. Albeit non-statistically significant, results show that both deep-dream 360° videos generate higher levels of creativity and higher emotional arousal than the non-modified control video.

Computer scientists usually describe virtual reality (VR) as a set of fancy hardware and software technologies. However, psychology and neuroscience are starting to consider VR as the most advanced form of human-computer interaction allowing individuals to act, communicate and become present in a computer-generated environment. In this view, the feeling of “being there” experienced during a VR experience can become a powerful tool for personal change: It offers a dynamic and social world where individuals can live and share a specific experience. For this reason, the use of VR in mental health shows promise: Different researches support its clinical efficacy for conditions including anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders, obesity and eating disorders, pain management, addiction and schizophrenia. However, more research is needed to transform the promises of VR in a real clinical tool for mental health. This Special Issue aims to present the most recent advances in the mental health applications of VR, as well as their implications for future patient care.

Background: Topographical disorientation (TD) refers to a particular condition which determines the loss of spatial orientation, both in new and familiar environments. TD and spatial memory impairments occur relatively early as effect of cognitive decline in aging, even in prodromal stages of dementia, namely mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Aims: (a) To show that components linked to the recall of familiar spatial knowledge are relatively spared with respect to the learning of unfamiliar ones in normal aging, while they are not in MCI, and (b) to investigate gender differences for their impact on egocentric and allocentric frames of reference. Method: Forty young participants (YC), 40 healthy elderly participants (HE), 40 elderly participants with subjective memory complaints (SMC), and 40 elderly with probable MCI were administered with egocentric and allocentric familiar tasks, based on the map of their hometown, and with egocentric and allocentric unfamiliar tasks, based on new material to be learned. A series of general linear models were used to analyze data. Results: No group differences were found on egocentric task based on familiar information. MCI performed worse than the other groups on allocentric tasks based on familiar information (YC = HE = SMC > MCI). Significant differences emerged between groups on egocentric and allocentric tasks based on unfamiliar spatial information (YC > HE = SMC > MCI). A gender difference was found, favoring men on allocentric unfamiliar task. Conclusion: Familiarity of spatial memory traces can represent a protective factor for retrospective components of TD in normal aging. Conversely, using newly learned information for assessment may lead to overestimating TD severity.

The Allocentric Lock theory (ALT) suggests that anorexia (AN) may be the outcome of a primary disturbance in the way the body is "experienced" and "remembered". A long tradition of research had proved that emotions can influence the encoding, storing and retrieving of memories. The aim of the present study was to explore the effectiveness of a new virtual reality (VR) paradigm combining the autobiographical recall and the body-swapping techniques in order to unlock the allocentric memory of the body in patients with AN. Seven young women diagnosed with AN following DSM-5 criterion, participated in this study. Before and after the experimental sessions, patients underwent pre-post assessment battery in which cognitive, affective and perceptive variables related with their clinical condition were assessed. The VR-based protocol consisted in four sessions in which patients were immersed in an avatar from an egocentric and an allocentric perspective. The body mass index (BMI) of the avatar was increased throughout the VR sessions: starting from patient's BMI until reaching the normal weight. During each session patients were asked to indicate their real and ideal BMI and to recall negative and positive life events. Patients showed lower negative emotions and body shame at fourth session compared to baseline. Furthermore, patients showed an increase in body satisfaction and an improvement in the accuracy of body perception and body shape. This new VR paradigm might be an effective tool for both assessment and treatment of body perception in AN.

Virtual reality (VR) technology is a promising platform to be included in obesity therapy as it provides a safe environment for learner experimentation, real-time personalized behavioral weight management tasks, and strategies. Moreover, it is able to target negative emotions and body image dissatisfaction that play a critical role in the onset and maintenance of this disorder. Finally, it has the potential of improving treatment adherence, addressing a critical issue to achieve successful weight loss and weight maintenance. As such, VR can be considered an integrated experiential platform able to engage obese individuals in mastering physical activity, diet, and self-regulatory strategies—targeting both emotions and experience of the body—that are the gateway to weight management and obesity prevention.

The past 10 years have seen the development and maturation of several digital technologies that can have a critical role to enhancement of happiness and psychological well-being. In particular, the past decade has seen the emergence of a new paradigm: "Positive Technology," the scientific and applied approach to the use of technology for improving the quality of our personal experience. In this article we discussed the potential of Positive Technology to augment and enhance the existing strategies for generating psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular different positive technologies-m-Health and smartphone apps, stand-alone and social virtual reality, video games, exergames, and social technologies-have the potential of enhancing different critical features of our personal experience-affective quality, engagement/actualization, and connectedness-that are challenged by the pandemic and its social and economic effects. In conclusion, although the focus of tackling the direct impact of COVID-19 is important, positive technologies can be extremely useful to reduce the psychological burden of the pandemic and to help individuals in flourishing even during difficult and complex times.