title: Utility of virtual reality environments to examine physiological reactivity and subjective distress in adults who stutter.
abstract: Virtual reality environments (VREs) allow for immersion in speaking environments that mimic real-life interactions while maintaining researcher control. VREs have been used successfully to engender arousal in other disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of virtual reality environments to examine physiological reactivity and subjective ratings of distress in persons who stutter (PWS).
  
  
  
  Subjective and objective measures of arousal were collected from 10PWS during four-minute speeches to a virtual audience and to a virtual empty room.
  
  
  
  Stuttering frequency and physiological measures (skin conductance level and heart rate) did not differ across speaking conditions, but subjective ratings of distress were significantly higher in the virtual audience condition compared to the virtual empty room.
  
  
  
  VREs have utility in elevating subjective ratings of distress in PWS. VREs have the potential to be useful tools for practicing treatment targets in a safe, controlled, and systematic manner.
authors.affiliation: George Washington University, Washington DC, United States. Electronic address: brundage@gwu.edu.
authors.forename: Shelley B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Brundage
authors.affiliation: George Washington University, Washington DC, United States.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brinton
authors.affiliation: George Washington University, Washington DC, United States.
authors.forename: Adrienne B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Hancock
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D013060:Speech; D013342:Stuttering / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D063367:Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Adults; Heart rate; SUDS; Skin conductance level; Stuttering; Virtual reality