Treating the Fear of Gaining Weight in Anorexia Nervosa

NCT04028635 NA TERMINATED

The main aim of this study is to develop a virtual reality (VR) embodiment-based exposure technique to improve the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN). A systematic and hierarchical body exposure intervention in which the patient owns a virtual avatar is proposed. At first, the virtual body matches with the real measurements of the patient, then the experimenter will progressively increase Body Mass Index (BMI) values of the virtual body during the exposure sessions until a healthy BMI value is reached (e.g. BMI score of 20). In this study a VR embodiment-based technique that combines visuo-motor and a visuo-tactile stimulation procedures is proposed in order to increase illusory feelings of ownership over the virtual body. It is hypothesised that adding a VR-based body exposure intervention to the classical cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) will significantly reduce symptomatology in AN patients.

Details

Lead sponsor	University of Barcelona
Phase	NA
Status	TERMINATED
Enrolment	35
Start date	Mon Feb 25 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Completion	Thu Jul 30 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Conditions

• Anorexia Nervosa

Interventions

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy plus VR-based body exposure
• Cognitive behavioral therapy

Countries

Spain