title: Effects of systematic cue exposure through virtual reality on cigarette craving.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cigarette cravings have been associated with less successful attempts to quit smoking and a greater likelihood of relapse after smoking cessation. Background craving refers to a relatively steady and continuous experience of craving, while cue-induced craving refers to phases of intense craving triggered by cues associated with smoking. Cue exposure treatment (CET) involves repeated exposure to stimuli associated with substance use in order to reduce craving responses. However, mixed results have been found regarding the effect of CET on both types of craving. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of systematic virtual reality cue exposure treatment (VR-CET) on background and cue-induced cravings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 48 treatment-seeking smokers. The VR-CET consisted of prolonged exposure sessions to several interactive virtual environments. The VR-CET was applied once a week over 5 weeks. An individualized hierarchy of exposure was drawn up for each patient starting from the easiest virtual environment. Background and cue-induced cravings were recorded in each session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cue-induced craving decreased over each session as a result of prolonged exposure. VR-CET also reduced cue-induced and background cravings across the 5 sessions, showing a cumulative effect across the exposure sessions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results evidenced the utility of VR-CET in reducing both types of cigarette craving. A combination of CET through VR with psychological treatments may improve current treatments for smoking cessation.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain;
authors: Irene
authors: I
authors: Pericot-Valverde
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain;
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Secades-Villa
authors: Department of Personality, Assessment, and Psychological Treatments, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: José
authors: J
authors: Gutiérrez-Maldonado
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain; garciaolaya@uniovi.es.
authors: Olaya
authors: O
authors: García-Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003198:Computer Simulation; D066249:Craving; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D063367:Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy / Q000379:methods*