Recent Publications

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Abstract: Background High emotional arousal (EA) is a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). While virtual reality (VR) has shown promise in treating emotion-based disorders, research on VR applications for BPD remains limited, especially in adolescence. This study aimed to validate a novel VR-based aVeRsive tension paradigm for assessing EA in adolescents and young adults with BPD symptoms. Methods In a multimodal study, we investigated the validity of aVeRsive tension: We surveyed 62 patients with BPD symptoms and 62 healthy controls (HC) aged 13–25 years who completed two VR sessions (stress/control condition). Each session included an adapted Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) followed by a cyberball paradigm. Subjective EA ratings and physiological measurements were taken during the sessions. Results The BPD group showed significantly higher EA levels compared to HC across both conditions. While both groups exhibited peak EA after TSST, HC demonstrated EA reduction during Cyberball in both conditions. The BPD group maintained elevated EA levels in the stress condition. Physiological data partially supported these findings, with the BPD group showing higher heart rates, particularly during Cyberball in the stress condition. Discussion The aVeRsive tension paradigm successfully discriminated between BPD and HC groups, capturing both subjective and physiological responses. The sustained EA in the BPD group during stress conditions aligns with characteristic emotion dysregulation patterns. While task-specific effects were observed, with TSST eliciting stronger responses than Cyberball, the paradigm effectively simulated real-life stressors in a controlled VR environment. Conclusion This study validates the aVeRsive tension protocol as a promising tool for assessing EA in adolescents and young adults with BPD symptoms. The VR-based approach offers advantages in experimental control and ecological validity, showing potential for both diagnostic assessment and therapeutic intervention in clinical settings.

Abstract: The presence of a conspecific can mitigate autonomic responses to aversive stimuli, an effect known as social buffering. Nowadays, social interactions are often virtual, yet virtual social buffering effects remain poorly understood. This work presents five studies that systematically test the conditions required for virtual social buffering. We assessed participants’ emotion ratings and skin conductance responses when they were presented with neutral or fear-inducing sounds alone or in the presence of a virtual character with a varying extent of human-like features (virtual female or male person, wooden puppet, point cloud). The characters were presented using the same social framing, i.e., had the same social meaning. Our results show a significant reduction in SCR responses to fear-inducing sounds in the presence of a virtual character, but only if it is embodied as a woman or a wooden puppet. Clarifying the role of the social frame, a control study showed no social buffering effects if the wooden puppet was presented without the social frame. Our results show that the characteristics of a virtual character significantly moderate the social buffering of fear responses. Our findings shed light on the nature of virtual social buffering effects and are relevant for developing virtual applications for clinical and societal interventions.

Abstract: As demand grows for cross-device collaboration in virtual environments, users increasingly join shared spaces on varying hardware ranging from head-mounted displays (HMDs) to everyday lower-immersion smartphones. This paper investigates smartphone-based participation compared with fully immersive VR in dyadic asymmetric interaction. One participant joins via an HMD, while the other uses a smartphone. Through a collaborative sorting task, we evaluate self-perception (presence, embodiment), other-perception (co-presence, social presence, avatar plausibility), and task-perception (task load, enjoyment). We compare our results with previous work that examined VR-VR and desktop-VR pairings. The results show that smartphone users report lower self-perception than VR users. However, other-perception remains comparable to immersive setups. Interestingly, smartphone participants experience lower mental demand. It appears that device familiarity and intuitive interfaces can compensate for reduced immersion. Overall, our work highlights the viability of smartphones for asymmetric interaction, offering high accessibility without impairing social interaction.

Abstract: LLM-based embodied agents are recently emerging in VR supporting various scenarios such as pedagogical assistants, virtual companions, and NPCs for games. While they have potential to enhance user interactions, they require careful design to cater unique user needs and contexts. We present an architecture that leverages different LLM modules, and their engineering integration to enable conversational interactions with an embodied agent in multi-user VR. Our system’s primary goal is to facilitate immersive tailoring through conversational input, allowing users to dynamically adjust an agent’s behavior and properties (e.g., role, personality, and appearance), directly within the virtual space, rather than during development or via separate interfaces. We demonstrate this approach with a use case and provide performance measurements in terms of latency of ailoring.

Abstract: Body weight issues can manifest in low self-esteem through a negative body image or the feeling of unattractiveness. To explore potential interventions, the pilot study examined whether embodying a photorealistically personalized avatar with enhanced attractiveness affects self-esteem. Participants in the manipulation group adjusted their avatar's body weight to their self-defined ideal, while a control group used unmodified avatars. To confirm the manipulation, we measured the perceived avatars' attractiveness. Results showed that participants found avatars at their ideal weight significantly more attractive, confirming an effective manipulation. Further, the ideal weight group showed a clear trend towards higher self-esteem post-exposure.

Abstract: Body image distortions in anorexia nervosa pose significant therapeutic challenges, requiring innovative interventions. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies offer promising solutions, yet stakeholder preferences, from therapists and patients, remain unexplored. This methodological proposal outlines focus groups to compare VR and AR mirror exposures using personalized and body-weight-modifiable avatars in anorexia nervosa therapy. Therapists will evaluate therapeutic potential, risks, and practicality, while adolescent patients will assess comfort, stress responses, and usability. The findings aim to advance the user-centered integration of VR and AR into anorexia nervosa therapy, addressing critical treatment gaps.