A new form of "virtual-reality" therapy could be an effective way to help people with alcohol dependence squash their cravings.
Although the recent study only looked at the success of the treatment in 10 patients, but the researchers are optimistic that virtual reality could be used to treat alcohol addiction, the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs reported.
"This technology is already popular in the fields of psychology and psychiatry," said senior researcher Doug Hyun Han, of Chung-Ang University Hospital in Seoul, Korea.
Virtual technology has already been shown to effectively treat phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. In these treatments, patients are exposed to situations that trigger fear responses, but in a safe space. This can help the individual learn skills that allow them to cope with their fear and anxiety in real life.
To see if a similar method could help reduce alcohol cravings, a team of researchers looked at 12 patients being treated for alcohol dependence. These patients went through a week-long detox program, and were then given 10 sessions of virtual therapy that were administered twice a week over a five-week period. The sessions included three different virtual scenes: one in a relaxing environment; one in a "high-risk" situation in which they were at a restaurant where other people were ordering alcohol; and a final one in an "aversive" situation in which they were surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of other people getting sick from drinking too much alcohol.
Before the virtual reality treatment began, the participants underwent positron emission tomography (PET) and computerized tomography (CT) brain scans, allowing the researchers to look at their brain metabolisms. They found that when compared to a control group of non-addicted individuals, the patients with alcohol abuse problems had a faster metabolism in the brain's limbic circuit, which indicates a higher sensitivity to stimuli such as alcohol.
Following the virtual reality therapy, the researchers observed the brain metabolisms in the alcohol dependence patients had significantly slowed down, suggesting reduced cravings.
While future studies are needed to test the effectiveness of this treatment in alcohol-dependent patients, the researchers believe it could be a promising approach and note it could even be "tailor-made" to meet the needs of each individual.
