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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 15h

Can VR field trips enhance STEM learning? New qualitative data explores the experiences of 30 high school students across four lessons, suggesting VR impacted emotions and intrinsic motivation, but not longer-term attitudes and beliefs.

doi.org/10.3389/frvi...

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 2d

Do head-mounted displays always enhance immersion? Researchers tested 126 participants and found opposing effects: HMDs increased telepresence and interaction but also cybersickness and discomfort, suggesting these effects counterbalance each other.

doi.org/10.17705/1th...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 3d

Does VR enhance advertising engagement? Five studies examined 360° video with varied product types. VR's immersive nature offset engagement declines from incongruent product typologies, traditionally seen in 2D displays.

doi.org/10.1002/mar....

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 5d

What is the best way to make educational VR adaptive? New research integrated adaptive AI in a Java programming VR game whilst also using Flow Theory and gamification. Results showed significant improvements in task performance and reduced errors.

doi.org/10.1186/s405...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 6d

Does physical walking always reduce VR sickness? New research tests walking effects on visual motion unrelated to the walking itself. Physical walking actually increased VR sickness, possibly due to heightened sensitivity to sensory information.

doi.org/10.1080/1044...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 8d

Can VR-induced hypnosis reduce dental anxiety in children? In a single case study, researchers report on an 11-year-old's tooth extraction whilst using HypnoVR. Measurements of brain activity confirmed the hypnotic state before surgery took place.

doi.org/10.1186/s129...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 8d

What happens when users leave VR? New research examines lingering side-effects from hand retargeting and spatial mismatches. After returning to reality, participants' hands remained redirected by up to 7cm and confused virtual locations with real ones.

doi.org/10.1145/3746...

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 9d

Having near‑death experiences in VR might help reduce death anxiety! New research found that completing a VR NDE led to self-reported death anxiety and stress falling across pre- and post-measures (but there was no control group involved).

doi.org/10.3389/frvi...

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 22d

Can AR improve home yoga practice? Researchers compared 3D life-sized AR yoga instructors with traditional 2D video lessons. AR showed significantly higher empathy, engagement, technology acceptance, and intrinsic motivation scores.

doi.org/10.1007/s100...

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 22d

Can VR mindfulness improve health? New research has replicated the effects of using Flowborne for six days showing improved breathing patterns and reduced burnout up to one month later.

doi.org/10.1007/s100...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 23d

Can VR enhance trauma treatment? Researchers compared VR versus mobile app interventions for COVID-19 PTSD. VR showed greater symptom reductions and improved post-traumatic growth.

doi.org/10.1007/s100...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 23d

How do forests affect well-being? Using VR forest environments, researchers found greenness indices, seasonality, and brightness significantly influenced psychological restoration scores.

doi.org/10.1016/j.tf...

The influence of forest characteristics on psychological well-being: an analysis based on immersive virtual reality

This study investigates the influence of forest characteristics and seasonality on psychological well-being, based on survey data collected in real fo…

www.sciencedirect.com

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 24d

Can VR illusions affect our physiology? Researchers shifted participants' perceived body midline by replacing their right hand with a virtual left hand. This caused significant left-hand temperature decreases and altered skin conductance responses.

doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · 24d

Can VR foster empathy towards individuals with schizophrenia? Researchers compared desktop versus VR psychosis simulations. VR users showed enhanced empathic concern, cognitive empathy, and affective empathy.

doi.org/10.1080/1044...

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Sep 9

Virtual companionship when using VR for pain management: new research suggests social contact increases pain tolerance, when using VR, regardless of whether the companion is known to you or a virtual stranger.

doi.org/10.1093/pm/p...

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Sep 6

Can VR improve adaptive skills in high‑functioning autistic youth? New research suggests repeated VR training may lead to higher task success, quicker completion times and better parent‑rated behaviours (n=33).

doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Sep 5

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Sep 5

Can VR improve awake brain surgery? New proof‑of‑concept research used a VR headset for intra‑operative monitoring in orthopaedic operations. High tolerance and acceptance were reported.

doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Virtual Reality in Awake brain Surgery (VIRAS) stage I: Proof of concept and tolerance validation during scheduled orthopedic surgery

Introduction The VIRAS (Virtual Reality in Awake Surgery) project is a two-stage, adaptive study. Its goal is to demonstrate the tolerance of the virtual reality (VR) headset for performing cognitive…

journals.plos.org

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Sep 5

Can eye‑gaze alone reveal identity in Social VR? New research found convolutional neutral networks could identify 95.5% users from their gaze data during a virtual conversation.

doi.org/10.1007/s100...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Jul 30

How do familiarity and knowledge affect virtual agent interactions? New research tested users with familiar professor replicas versus unknown agents in VR, finding familiarity shaped perceived expertise while knowledge levels influenced trust.

doi.org/10.1145/3757...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Jul 29

New open-access VR environment launched for criminology research. The virtual burglary project enables controlled experiments on crime-related behaviour and decision-making.

doi.org/10.1007/s112...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Jul 29

Can VR detect subtle executive dysfunction missed by standard tests in MS patients? New research using virtual supermarket tasks found VR identified impairments during initial testing that traditional assessments missed.

doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...

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linkinghub.elsevier.com

The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Jul 28

Do nature backgrounds boost digital meditation benefits? New research tested classroom versus nature settings on VR and computers (n=202), finding nature enhanced mood and well-being regardless of device type.

doi.org/10.1016/j.ch...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Jul 22

Rock on! Can VR create the feeling of being Mark Knopfler? New research embodied participants as the lead singer of Dire Straits. Those with synchronous body movements, compared to asynchronous, showed stronger ownership and displayed more rock star behaviours on stage.

doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

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The XR Research Digest @xrdigest.bsky.social · Jul 22

Can VR help people confront their inner critic? New research tested a VR schema therapy exercise where students faced avatars expressing their self-criticism, finding immediate reductions in self-criticism and increased self-compassion (paywall).

doi.org/10.1016/j.jb...