1,720,991 research outputs found
Vicarious touch in Immersive Virtual Reality
No full textSocial touch is an important tool to communicate emotions but it’s still unclear how it could promote and maintain social bonds between individuals. Immersive Virtual Reality offers unprecedented opportunities to explore the effect of somatosensory stimuli (like pain and touch) even when they are not actually delivered. We found that the the mere observation of touch kinematics delivered on a first person perspective embodied avatar causes different behavioural and psychophysiological reactions according to the gender of the participant, the gender of the toucher and the area touched .The vicarious experience in virtual reality allows to address more directly a delicate issue that can otherwise be explored only through imagination).
Influence of cognitive stance and physical perspective on subjective and autonomic reactivity to observed pain and pleasure: An immersive virtual reality study
No full textObserving others’ pain may induce a reaction called personal distress that may be influenced by top-down (imagine self or other in pain, i.e., self- vs other-oriented stance) and bottom-up (physical perspective of those who suffer, i.e., first vs third person perspective- 1PP vs 3PP) processes. The different contributions of these processes have not been teased apart. By capitalizing on the power of Immersive Virtual Reality, we explored how behavioural (subjective ratings) and physiological reactivity (skin conductance reactivity, SCR) to pain and pleasure delivered to an avatar was influenced by Cognitive stance and Physical perspective. Taking an Other-Oriented stance leads to attributing higher congruent valence (i.e. pain rated as unpleasant and pleasure as pleasant) and intensity to the stimuli and induces reduced SCR. Ownership over the virtual limb was maximal in 1PP where physiological reactivity to the stimuli was comparable. Our results highlight different components underpinning reactivity to pain and pleasure
The role of sexual orientation and sexual prejudice against gay men in the regulation of virtual comfortdistance towards artificial agents
No full textThe proxemics literature has long investigated the space maintained during social interactions and found that the
separation zone that individuals keep between themselves and others (known as interpersonal distance, IPD) is
automatically regulated according to distance-related feelings of personal comfort. Similar results have been
found when participants interact with virtual confederates, suggesting that Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) may
represent a promising tool for investigating the IPD in an ecological and accurate way. Tellingly, the sex of the
interactants seems to play a prominent role in the regulation of IPD. For instance, evidence shows that women
dyads maintain closer distances than men dyads; however, this result has not been replicated in other studies.
One of the possible reasons for the inconsistencies across studies could be the lack of consideration of other
important aspects regarding sexuality. To explore this issue, 72 Italian participants, sorted into groups according
to their sexual orientation (heterosexual/non-heterosexual) and their sex (men/women), performed a stopdistance task towards approaching male or female virtual avatars seen through an head-mounted display.
Participants adjusted IPD using a joystick and had to indicate when they felt the IPD as comfortable. Through a
continuous participant-avatar tracking, the distance (cm) at which participants stopped the virtual avatar was
calculated. Participants’ levels of implicit and explicit sexual prejudice against gay men were also collected.
Bayesian analyses showed that same-sex IPD was smaller for non-heterosexual compared to heterosexual
participants. Moreover, only in the group of heterosexual men, the implicit prejudice against gay men was
associated with a larger distance towards the male avatar and a closer distance towards the female avatar. These
results suggest that among heterosexual men, higher levels of implicit prejudice are associated with enhanced
perceived threat during spatial interactions with other men and are also associated with enhanced need of
reducing distance with women, probably in the attempt to maintain cultural ideals of masculinity and appropriate
gender roles for men. Furthermore, our findings support the idea that considering only biological sex gives a
limited account of IPD regulation since there are within-sex differences dependent on sexual orientation. Overall,
our approach suggests that IVR may allow to overcome limitations typical of studies with real participants and
provide a unique opportunity to explore the physiological and neural underpinnings of sexuality-related variables
that regulate IPD
Wearing same- and opposite-sex virtual bodies and seeing them caressed in intimate areas
No full textImmersive virtual reality enables people to undergo the experience of owning an artificial body and vicariously feeling tactile stimuli delivered to it. However, it is currently unknown how such experiences are modified by the sexual congruency between the human and the artificial agent. In two studies, heterosexual men (Experiment 1) and women (Experiment 2) embodied same-sex and opposite-sex avatars and were asked to evaluate the experience (e.g., pleasantness, erogeneity) of being touched on social or intimate areas of their virtual body by a male or female avatar. Electrocardiogram and galvanic skin response were also recorded. Moreover, participants’ implicit and explicit gender biases were examined via a gender-potency implicit association test and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. When embodying a same-sex avatar, men and women rated caresses on intimate areas from an avatar of the opposite sex as more pleasant and erogenous. Conversely, body swap—that is, wearing an opposite-sex avatar—enhanced participants’ perceptions of pleasantness and erogeneity for caresses on intimate areas from a same-sex toucher. This effect was stronger in men than in women. Furthermore, physiological correlates of enhanced processing of arousing stimuli predicted behavioural outcomes during the body swap illusion. Wearing an opposite-sex avatar affects one’s own body representations and may have important implications on people’s attitudes and implicit reactivity to touch-mediated interactions. Men seem more susceptible to this type of body swap illusion. Our paradigm may induce profound changes of cross-sex perspective-taking and provide novel tools for promoting empathy and comprehension of sex-related diversity
Anisotropic properties of a single superconducting CaCuO2/SrTiO3 interface
No full textThe transport properties of CaCuO2/SrTiO3 single interfaces are studied by resistance versus temperature measurements in external magnetic fields. The superconducting anisotropy where and are the superconducting coherence lengths parallel and perpendicular to the interface, respectively, shows values higher than that previously obtained for CaCuO2/SrTiO3 superlattices deposited in the same conditions. The larger anisotropy, observed for the single interfaces, indicates that the charge carriers are confined inside a thin superconducting layer next to the interface rather than spread throughout the whole CaCuO2 block. The activation energy and the irreversibility line confirm this hypothesis, suggesting that quasi two-dimensional transport is dominant in this system. The interpretation of the experimental data in the framework of the Berezinskii?Kosterlitz?Thouless theory confirms that the thickness of the superconducting sheet layer is about 1 nm, corresponding roughly to two CaCuO2 unit cells.The transport properties of CaCuO2/SrTiO3 single interfaces are studied by resistance versus temperature measurements in external magnetic fields. The superconducting anisotropy gamma=xi(a-b)/xi(c), where xi(a-b) and xi(c) are the superconducting coherence lengths parallel and perpendicular to the interface, respectively, shows values higher than that previously obtained for CaCuO2/SrTiO3 superlattices deposited in the same conditions. The larger anisotropy, observed for the single interfaces, indicates that the charge carriers are confined inside a thin superconducting layer next to the interface rather than spread throughout the whole CaCuO2 block. The activation energy and the irreversibility line confirm this hypothesis, suggesting that quasi two-dimensional transport is dominant in this system. The interpretation of the experimental data in the framework of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless theory confirms that the thickness of the superconducting sheet layer is about 1 nm, corresponding roughly to two CaCuO2 unit cells
Virtual reality in cognitive and motor rehabilitation: facts, fiction and fallacies
No full textOver recent decades many researchers and clinicians have started to use Virtual Reality (VR) as a new technology for implementing innovative rehabilitation treatments in cognitive and motor domains. However, the expression 'VR' has often also been improperly used to refer to video games. Further, VR efficacy, often confused with that of video-game exercises, is still debated. Areas covered: In this review, we provide the scientific rationale for the advantages of using VR systems in rehabilitation and investigate whether the VR could really be a promising technique for the future of rehabilitation of patients, or if it is just an entertainment for scientists. In addition, we describe some of the most used devices in VR with their potential advantages for research and provide an overview of the recent evidence and meta-analyses in rehabilitation. Expert commentary: We highlight the efficacy and fallacies of VR in neurorehabilitation and discuss the important factors emerging from the use of VR, including the sense of presence and the embodiment over a virtual avatar, in developing future applications in cognitive and motor rehabilitation
Signatures of embodied simulation and motivational factors during the perception of virtual architectural environments
No full textStable or able? Effect of virtual reality stimulation on static balance of post-stroke patients and healthy subjects
No full textOver the last decades, virtual reality (VR) emerged as a potential tool for developing new rehabilitation treatments in neurological patients. However, despite the increasing number of studies, a clear comprehension about the impact of immersive VR-treatment on balance and posture is still scarce. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of VR cues on balance performances of subjects affected by stroke, age-matched healthy subjects, and young healthy subjects. Fifteen patients with sub-acute stroke, fifteen healthy elderly subjects and fifteen healthy young adults took part in this study. All groups were immersed in a CAVE system on a stabilometric platform. The experiment consisted in fourteen trials: (i) ten VR trials, which differed in term of speed and movement direction; (ii) two-stabilometric static sessions, with opened and closed eyes (one at the start and one at the end of the experimental session). Results showed that VR trials increased the sway path length (representative of the body sway amplitudes), in young subjects. Elderly and patients showed less changes in postural sway during virtual reality stimulation than young group. These findings may suggest that a physiological postural performance is not simply evaluable assessing stability, but also assessing the ability of adapting body oscillations to the external stimuli
Humans adjust virtual comfort-distance towards an artificial agent depending on their sexual orientation and implicit prejudice against gay men
No full textThe interpersonal distance kept by each individual plays a prominent role in daily social interactions and typically communicates implicitly human attitudes toward conspecifics. While it is held that men dyads keep a larger distance than women, information about whether such sex-related distance is moderated by sexual orientation and implicit/explicit sexual prejudice is scarce. To explore this issue, Heterosexual and Non-Heterosexual Men and Women (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual) were immersed in virtual reality and asked to provide comfort-distance judgements in relation to approaching male or female avatars. Results showed that same-sex comfort-distance was smaller for Non-Heterosexual compared to Heterosexual participants. Moreover, the larger distance toward the male avatar kept by Heterosexual Men was associated with the implicit prejudice toward gay men. Our results indicate that comfort-distance demarcation is modulated by sexual orientation and that implicit sexual prejudice leads to increased interpersonal comfort-distance, a possible proxy to avoidant behaviors. Our approach suggests that immersive virtual reality may allow to overcome limitations typical of studies with real participants and provide a unique opportunity to explore the physiological and neural underpinnings of sexuality-related variables that regulate interpersonal distance
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