Report on a preliminary study using breath control and a virtual jogging scenario as biofeedback for resilience training

Abstract

Alternative methods of treating psychological stress are needed to treat some veterans of recent military conflicts. The use of virtual world technologies is one possible platform for treatment that is being explored by the "Coming Home" project at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). One of the novel ways ICT is attempting to mitigate stress via virtual worlds is with a virtual jogging scenario, where the movement of an avatar is controlled via rhythmic breathing into a standard microphone. We present results from a preliminary study of 27 participants that measured the mood and arousal effects produced by engaging in this scenario. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.