Immersive virtual plus-maze to examine behavior and psychophysiological-related variables in young people with problematic alcohol and cannabis consumption

ABSTRACT: Stressful events appear to be risky situations that can precipitate the consumption of drugs. One way to recreate stressful contexts, in an ecological and controlled method, is through immersive virtual reality (VR). In our study, we designed the scenario of an elevated plus-maze (EPM) using VR, which is widely used in animal models to assess unconditioned anxiety. This task allowed us to analyze the behavioral, psychophysiological (heart rate and electrodermal activity), and hormonal response (salivary cortisol and Alpha-amylase) to this stressful situation in different moments (before VR task (anticipation), at the end of the task and 10 minutes later) in young people with problematic alcohol use (AU, n = 27), alcohol combined with cannabis consumption (AU + C, n = 10), as well as in a c

SUBMITTER: Moreno-Fernandez R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10470011 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature