Efficacy of an attention guidance VR intervention for social anxiety disorder.

项目摘要/摘要 广泛影响：社交焦虑症(SAD)是一种普遍存在的心理健康问题，对大约 占总人口的12%。一种被认为保持SAD的机制是避免面孔(即避免 负面评估威胁)。然而，对SAD的注意过程的研究一直局限于范式 出现在电脑显示器上。以一种更自然的方式研究注意过程 作为试点研究的一部分，使用真实演员的身临其境的360°视频虚拟现实环境。参与者具有 在这个虚拟现实中，一系列社交焦虑症状(从没有到严重)完成了5分钟的演讲 同时记录他们的眼球运动。研究结果表明，更严重的症状 社交焦虑的发生与避免看脸有关(即更少地盯着脸)。在存在的同时 对SAD的治疗是中等有效的，许多人没有意义的经历 减轻他们的症状。该项目的首要目标是为未来SAD的治疗研究提供信息。 我们将测试针对SAD的简短注意指导干预，该干预专门针对避免面部作为一种 维持这种紊乱的潜在机制。拟议的研究将使用眼球跟踪硬件和 从自然主义的虚拟现实环境进行初步研究。我们还将收集眼睛跟踪数据之前， 干预以调查SAD注意过程中潜在的异质性。AIM 1将测试 假设(A)与标准暴露干预相比，注意指导干预将 导致社交焦虑症状的更大程度的减少，以及(B)这一影响将通过 在一次简短的公开演讲中，对面孔的关注是干预后的挑战。这些结果将提供更多 回避面孔是否作为SAD的一个因果维持因素需要证据。目标2将 测试以下假设，即SAD有不同的亚组，具有独特的眼球运动模式 作为目标1的一部分收集的干预前演讲的过程。贝叶斯统计方法将是 实现了评估眼球运动模式并根据这些模式估计群组成员 模式。这种方法可能支持一种更个性化的方法来治疗SAD。把这些放在一起 这些发现可能会为未来利用定向注意过程治疗SAD的实验疗法提供参考。培训： 该项目将使申请者做好准备，利用简短的有针对性的干预措施进行早期临床试验 旨在研究焦虑相关病理维持所涉及的可能的因果机制。申请人 还将获得对进行眼动至关重要的高级技术、理论和统计学知识 (即视觉注意)研究。这项建议将有助于申请者将他的工作传播给科学工作者 通过会议演示文稿和期刊出版物，并为他提供技能 未来临床研究的学术生涯。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Broad Impact: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent mental health concern that impacts approximately 12% of the population. One mechanism thought to maintain SAD is avoidance of faces (i.e. avoidance of negative evaluative threat). However, research on attentional processes in SAD has been confined to paradigms presented on computer monitors. To investigate attentional processes in a more naturalistic way we developed an immersive, 360º-video virtual reality environment using real actors, as part of a pilot study. Participants with a range of social anxiety symptoms (from none to severe) completed a 5-minute speech in this virtual reality environment while their eye movements were recorded. Results from the study showed that greater symptoms of social anxiety were associated with avoidance of looking at faces (i.e. fewer fixations on faces). While existing treatments for SAD are moderately effective, a large number of individuals do not experience meaningful reductions in their symptoms. The overarching goal of this project is to inform future treatment research for SAD. We will test a brief attention guidance intervention for SAD that specifically targets avoidance of faces as a potential mechanism maintaining the disorder. The proposed research will use the eye tracking hardware and naturalistic virtual reality environment from the pilot study. We will also collect eye tracking data prior to the intervention in order to investigate potential heterogeneity in the attentional processes of SAD. Aim 1 will test the hypotheses that (a) the attention guidance intervention, compared to the standard exposure intervention, will result in a greater reduction in symptoms of social anxiety, and (b) this effect will be mediated by the number of fixations on faces during a brief public speaking challenge post-intervention. These results will provide much needed evidence as to whether avoidance of faces operates as a causal maintaining factor in SAD. Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that there are distinct sub-groups of SAD with unique patterns of eye movements over the course of a pre-intervention speech collected as part of Aim 1. A Bayesian statistical approach will be implemented that evaluates patterns of eye movements and estimates group membership based on those patterns. This approach may support a more personalized approach to treating SAD. Taken together these findings may inform future experimental therapeutics for SAD utilizing targeted attentional processes. Training: This project will prepare the applicant to conduct early stage clinical trials utilizing brief targeted interventions aimed at putative causal mechanisms implicated in the maintenance of anxiety-related pathology. The applicant will also gain advanced technical, theoretical, and statistical knowledge critical for conducting eye movement (i.e. visual attention) research. This proposal will aid the applicant in disseminating his work to the scientific community through conference presentations and journal publications, as well as provide him with skills for his future academic career in clinical research.