Search Results (74)

Dental phobia is a disabling yet underdiagnosed condition that prevents many patients from seeking essential oral healthcare, leading to avoidable pain, disease progression, and reduced quality of life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most widely supported psychological intervention for specific phobias and has demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing dental anxiety and avoidance. This narrative review synthesizes recent evidence on CBT applications for phobia management, with particular emphasis on dental settings. In addition to reviewing established mechanisms of CBT, this paper highlights emerging adjunctive approaches such as virtual reality, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and hypnosis. Special attention is given to pediatric populations, trauma-exposed individuals, and patients with neurodevelopmental disorders, who are often underrepresented in clinical research. The findings underscore the central role of CBT in addressing dental phobia while identifying gaps in standardized protocols, long-term outcomes, and accessibility across diverse healthcare contexts. Future research should prioritize controlled trials, cultural adaptations, and the integration of psychological training into dental curricula to enhance the translation of evidence into everyday practice. Full article

Background: Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder, are among the most frequent psychiatric conditions in primary care. They often present with somatic symptoms such as dyspnea, palpitations, chest or gastrointestinal discomfort, sweating, or flushing. Adaptol^® is a non-benzodiazepine anxiolytic with nootropic properties that modulates the limbic-reticular system, hypothalamic emotional centers, and multiple neurotransmitter systems. This study aimed to assess the association between Adaptol^® use and changes in anxiety symptoms, including somatic manifestations, in routine practice. Methods: A noninterventional observational study was conducted in 100 adults diagnosed with anxiety disorders in primary care. All received Adaptol^® 500 mg as prescribed. Patients had to have mild-to-moderate anxiety (5–14 points according GAD-7) to be enrolled. Exclusion criteria ruled out individuals with concomitant psychiatric or severe somatic conditions and those with use of other medications or any interventions that could affect the symptoms. Anxiety severity and somatic symptom burden were assessed at baseline and after treatment. Results: Adaptol^® treatment was associated with reduction in anxiety and somatic complaints. Improvements were reported in palpitations, chest discomfort, gastrointestinal disturbances, and autonomic symptoms. Greater benefit was observed in male patients, though without significance testing, and in those with severe baseline anxiety, as demonstrated by correlation between GAD-7 scores at baseline and changes after the treatment (r = 0.5). No unexpected adverse events occurred. Conclusions: In this real-world study, Adaptol^® showed anxiolytic efficacy and good tolerability, improving both psychological and somatic manifestations of anxiety disorders. These findings support its use in primary care, especially in severe cases of anxiety. Controlled trials are needed to support these results. Full article

Background: Dental phobia significantly impairs treatment adherence and oral health–related quality of life. While intravenous sedation (IVS) is commonly used to manage anxiety, interest in non-pharmacological alternatives is increasing. Visual color stimuli are known to affect emotional processing and autonomic nervous system activity. This study investigated whether brief exposure to colored goggles (translucent, green, blue, red) influenced physiological and psychological stress markers in patients with dental phobia undergoing IVS. Methods: Twenty patients with dental phobia (CMDAS ≥ 20) participated in a within-subject repeated measures design, experiencing all four color conditions in randomized order via Latin square. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), heart rate (HR), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores for pain and satisfaction were measured at four time points. The Friedman test, followed by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Bonferroni correction, was used to compare conditions. Results: Prior to peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIC), green goggle exposure significantly reduced median sAA levels compared to the translucent control (p = 0.009). HR was lower in the green and blue conditions than in the red, although not significantly. VAS pain scores were significantly reduced under green and blue conditions; satisfaction scores remained uniformly high across all conditions. Red did not worsen stress responses compared to the control and may promote increased engagement. Conclusions: Cool color stimuli—particularly green and blue—may attenuate acute stress responses in patients with dental phobia prior to PIC. Incorporating such visual cues into preoperative environments may serve as a simple, non-invasive adjunct to managing dental anxiety. Full article

Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a transformative tool in the treatment of phobias and the cultivation of emotional resilience. This study aims to explore the potential of VR to create controlled, immersive environments that facilitate exposure therapy, enabling individuals to confront and desensitize themselves to their fears in a safe and personalized manner. The flexibility of VR systems allows therapists to tailor scenarios to the unique needs of patients, addressing specific phobias such as acrophobia, arachnophobia, and social anxiety disorders. Beyond phobia treatment, VR’s capacity to simulate challenging or stress-inducing scenarios presents opportunities for fostering emotional resilience by building adaptive coping mechanisms and reducing stress responses over time. The integration of biofeedback and machine learning further enhances VR applications, enabling real-time adjustments based on physiological and psychological responses. In this article, the current advancements, underlying mechanisms, and challenges in leveraging VR technology for therapeutic purposes are discussed with a focus on its implications for mental health care. By combining immersive technology with evidence-based practices, VR offers a promising pathway for improving mental health outcomes and expanding the accessibility of therapeutic interventions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Anxiety is a hallmark feature of Williams syndrome (WS), with very high prevalence rates of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and specific phobias in both school-aged children and adults, yet a relatively lower prevalence of social phobia. There is very limited research on anxiety in very young children with WS, and no study to date has examined the early prevalence and development of different anxiety disorders in WS. The present research provides a comprehensive assessment of the prevalence and longitudinal profile of anxiety symptomology in very young children with WS. Potential environmental and demographic correlates of anxiety symptomology were also explored. Methods: Participants included 19 young children with WS, aged between 2 and 5 years (at initial testing), who completed a comprehensive developmental assessment. Parents/guardians also completed the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS; Spence, 1997 & Spence et al., 2001), a standardised, psychometrically robust anxiety questionnaire (commonly utilised in research and clinical settings) that measures anxiety symptomology for various anxiety disorders present in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Results: The present research found anxiety symptomology to be highly prevalent in very young children with WS, particularly GAD and specific phobia. Moreover, the prevalence of anxiety symptomology increased with age and over time, with many children developing comorbid anxiety disorder symptoms approximately 3.5 years later, at Time 2. Chronological age, sex, and developmental/intellectual capabilities were also found to impact on the developmental trajectory of anxiety in young children with WS. Conclusions: The longitudinal findings provide evidence for the contribution of environmental factors on the nature, developmental course, and maintenance of anxiety. Considerable individual variability was apparent, confirming the importance of individual assessments and developing individualised treatment programmes for those with WS. Full article

Exposure therapy approaches are recognized as effective treatments for specific phobias; however, certain phobias, such as fear of driving on urban highways, present unique challenges in order to expose the patient to the triggering stimuli in a safe, accessible, and controlled manner. In this context, we developed a virtual reality (VR) computerized driving simulator based on a local urban highway, and an accompanying clinical protocol to provide exposure therapy for patients with observed fear of driving on urban highways. We recruited eleven patients for this pilot study, where safety and tolerability as well as clinical and functional improvement were explored. We found that the driving simulator was safe and well tolerated by patients, with a notable 82% of patients successfully completing in vivo exposure, and there being a consistent trend in reduced anxiety scores using standardized testing. Nine patients successfully engaged in live exposures in a real freeway after participating in this VR-based exposure therapy protocol. The creation of an immersive and realistic VR environment based on a local urban highway for treating this phobia proved feasible and well-tolerated by participants. The intervention’s ability to engage patients who might otherwise have avoided traditional exposure therapies is noteworthy. Future research should aim to replicate this study with a larger and more diverse sample to enhance the generalizability of the findings. Full article

This review concentrates on the application of carbon-based materials in the development and fabrication of voltammetric sensors of antidepressant drugs used in the treatment of moderate to severe depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and various phobias. Voltammetric techniques offer outstanding sensitivity and selectivity, accuracy, low detection limit, high reproducibility, instrumental simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and short time of direct determination of antidepressant drugs in pharmaceutical and clinical samples. Moreover, the combination of voltammetric approaches with the unique characteristics of carbon and its derivatives has led to the development of powerful electrochemical sensing tools for detecting antidepressant drugs, which are highly desirable in healthcare, environmental monitoring, and the pharmaceutical industry. In this review, carbon-based materials, such as glassy carbon and boron-doped diamond, and a wide spectrum of carbon nanoparticles, including graphene, graphene oxides, reduced graphene oxides, single-walled carbon nanotubes, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes were described in terms of the sensing performance of agomelatine, alprazolam, amitriptyline, aripiprazole, carbamazepine, citalopram, clomipramine, clozapine, clonazepam, desipramine, desvenlafaxine, doxepin, duloxetine, flunitrazepam, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, imipramine, nifedipine, olanzapine, opipramol, paroxetine, quetiapine, serotonin, sertraline, sulpiride, thioridazine, trazodone, venlafaxine, and vortioxetine. Full article

Anxiety disorders are common mental health conditions characterized by excessive fear and anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has demonstrated efficacy, yet the possible neurobiological mechanisms underpinning its effects remain debated. The dual-route model offers a potential explanation by suggesting that CBT increases activation in the brain areas responsible for emotion regulation while decreasing activation in limbic areas. This scoping review examined possible neurobiological mechanisms supporting CBT’s efficacy in anxiety disorders by exclusively reviewing studies that utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The included studies published since 2018 focused on adult samples that received CBT for anxiety disorders, with pre- or post-treatment fMRI data. The data extraction followed a standardized process, with key variables, such as the study design, population, and neuroimaging findings, systematically charted. While the dual-route model explains key aspects of CBT’s neurobiological effects, the findings suggest the need for expansion to incorporate areas such as the precuneus, particularly in specific phobias and social anxiety disorder. Further research is required to refine this model and explore additional mechanisms underlying CBT’s efficacy. Full article

According to “The World Health Organization”, obesity during childhood is directly associated with multiple complications and with an increased risk of the installation of various pathologies. Considering the increase in this pathology among children and teenagers, new instruments of prevention are needed. Virtual reality is an innovative tool that offers several advantages over classical therapies, becoming important in various medical fields, starting from phobia treatment, pain relief, and body image perception to education. This technology has been successfully used to study the influence of virtual cues on behavioral responses and can be useful in nutritional education as well as understanding eating behavior. The objective of this scoping review study is to understand the impact of virtual supermarket exposure on individuals’ food choices and to explore the potential of technology on nutrition education in the general population. It seeks to explore purchasing based on product appearance and placement, food prices, nudging conditions and under-pressure decision making. A manual literature search was conducted using the databases Web of Science, SCOPUS and Google Scholar. Included articles were published between 2012 and 2024 using immersive virtual and augmented supermarket environments as a tool to understand food choices and education. The results showed that using higher immersion can be efficient in understanding food choices, rather than a lower immersive tool. The advantage of immersive virtual reality is highlighted by the sense of presence it offers, compared to other devices, providing a safe, controlled environment for users. Full article

This systematic review explores the integration of machine learning (ML) with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies in cognitive therapies for mental health disorders. Analyzing 141 studies following PRISMA guidelines, the findings reveal that ML-driven AR/VR therapies offer significant advancements in personalization, real-time adaptation, and treatment efficacy. VR-based interventions demonstrate strong effectiveness in reducing symptoms of PTSD, anxiety disorders, and phobias, with ML algorithms—such as neural networks (NNs), supervised learning, and reinforcement learning (RL)—further optimizing therapy through predictive analytics and dynamic adjustments. These technologies enhance patient engagement, improve treatment adherence, and sustain therapeutic benefits for up to six months. This review highlights the transformative impact of ML-enhanced AR/VR therapies in delivering immersive, scalable, and highly personalized interventions, redefining the future of mental health treatment. As AI-powered therapeutic frameworks are poised to evolve further, such advancements have enormous potential to revolutionize cognitive therapies, enhancing their accessibility and optimizing patient outcomes worldwide. Full article

Large language models (LLMs) offer promising possibilities in mental health, yet their ability to assess disorders and recommend treatments remains underexplored. This quantitative cross-sectional study evaluated four LLMs (Gemini (Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental), Claude (Claude 3.5 Sonnet), ChatGPT-3.5, and ChatGPT-4) using text vignettes representing conditions such as depression, suicidal ideation, early and chronic schizophrenia, social phobia, and PTSD. Each model’s diagnostic accuracy, treatment recommendations, and predicted outcomes were compared with norms established by mental health professionals. Findings indicated that for certain conditions, including depression and PTSD, models like ChatGPT-4 achieved higher diagnostic accuracy compared to human professionals. However, in more complex cases, such as early schizophrenia, LLM performance varied, with ChatGPT-4 achieving only 55% accuracy, while other LLMs and professionals performed better. LLMs tended to suggest a broader range of proactive treatments, whereas professionals recommended more targeted psychiatric consultations and specific medications. In terms of outcome predictions, professionals were generally more optimistic regarding full recovery, especially with treatment, while LLMs predicted lower full recovery rates and higher partial recovery rates, particularly in untreated cases. While LLMs recommend a broader treatment range, their conservative recovery predictions, particularly for complex conditions, highlight the need for professional oversight. LLMs provide valuable support in diagnostics and treatment planning but cannot replace professional discretion. Full article

In this study, we present a framework to develop and evaluate a virtual reality exposure therapy system with biofeedback toward scorpion phobia treatment. The system is developed based on the methodology for the development of virtual reality educational environments; usability is evaluated with the System Usability Scale (SUS), the affects are measured with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the biofeedback heart rate is measured in real time using a wearable device and the HypeRate app. A descriptive study was conducted with a non-probabilistic convenience sample of undergraduate students. The non-clinical sample consisted of 51 participants (11 women and 40 men) (mean = 20.75, SD = 2.42 years). The system usability score was 75.49, higher than the average of 68. For positive affects, the average value of the overall sample was 28.18, while for negative affects it was 13.67. The results of this preliminary study, while not determining that the system could currently be applied in clinical settings, demonstrate however that the system can initially be considered as a pre-feasibility study, and if the limitations of the unbalanced non-clinical sample are addressed, it could be used in the future for this purpose. The main contribution is the proposed framework to integrate usability and affects evaluation, as well as biofeedback in a VRET system toward scorpion phobia treatment. Full article

Augmented Reality (AR) is helpful for overcoming the challenges of in vivo exposure therapy for Specific Phobia (SP). Specifically, Projection-based AR exposure therapy (P-ARET) allows the individual to face the feared animal without intrusive hardware, the phobic stimulus can be controlled, and it can maximize “variability”, producing a positive effect in the generalization of the results. The goal of this work is to assess the feasibility of P-ARET for SP, comparing multiple stimuli (MS) versus single stimulus (SS) conditions and evaluating the participants’ user experience. Adherence to a daily monitoring app (Emotional Monitor) and preliminary efficacy of the P-ARET treatment were assessed. Four participants diagnosed with SP of cockroaches (DSM-5) were randomly assigned to different baselines. Episodic and daily evaluations were performed. Participants considered the MS condition more aversive but more effective than the SS condition. Adherence to the mobile app was 83% for three participants and 55% for the remaining person. Analyses of non-overlap of all pairs and changes in the functionality levels showed a decrease in the SP symptoms at post-treatment and follow-ups. This study offers preliminary feasibility results for a novel form of P-ARET to treat participants with cockroach phobia, which may also apply to other phobias. Full article

Background: Anxiety disorders significantly reduce patients’ quality of life. Current pharmacological treatments, primarily benzodiazepines and antidepressants, are associated with numerous side effects. Consequently, there is a continual search for alternative methods to traditional therapies that are less burdensome for patients and broaden their therapeutic options. Our objective was to determine the role of selected alternative methods in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Methods: In this review, we examined recent evidence on alternative treatments for anxiety disorders, including physical activity, mindfulness, virtual reality (VR) technology, biofeedback, herbal remedies, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), cryotherapy, hyperbaric therapy, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. For this purpose we reviewed PubMed and after initial search, we excluded works unrelated to our aim, non-orginal data and animal studies. We conducted second search to cover all minor methods. Results: We included 116 studies, which data is presented in Tables. We have investigated which methods can support treatment and which can be used as a stand-alone treatment. We assessed the risks to benefits of using alternative treatments. Conclusion: Alternative treatments significantly expand the options available to patients and clinicians, with many serving as adjuncts to traditional therapies. Among the methods presented, mindfulness has the most significant therapeutic potential. Full article

This study explores neuroplasticity through the use of virtual reality (VR) and brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections in response to learning, experience, and injury. VR offers a controlled environment to manipulate sensory inputs, while BCIs facilitate real-time monitoring and modulation of neural activity. By combining VR and BCI, researchers can stimulate specific brain regions, trigger neurochemical changes, and influence cognitive functions such as memory, perception, and motor skills. Key findings indicate that VR and BCI interventions are promising for rehabilitation therapies, treatment of phobias and anxiety disorders, and cognitive enhancement. Personalized VR experiences, adapted based on BCI feedback, enhance the efficacy of these interventions. This study underscores the potential for integrating VR and BCI technologies to understand and harness neuroplasticity for cognitive and therapeutic applications. The researchers utilized the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method to conduct a comprehensive and systematic review of the existing literature on neuroplasticity, VR, and BCI. This involved identifying relevant studies through database searches, screening for eligibility, and assessing the quality of the included studies. Data extraction focused on the effects of VR and BCI on neuroplasticity and cognitive functions. The PRISMA method ensured a rigorous and transparent approach to synthesizing evidence, allowing the researchers to draw robust conclusions about the potential of VR and BCI technologies in promoting neuroplasticity and cognitive enhancement. Full article