The Effect of Immersive VR Distraction on Memory: Study 2

NCT07183839 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: VRAnalgesia2025b
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study measures how many words people can recall. Some words are studied/heard/learned while in immersive Virtual Reality, and some are studied/heard/learned while in a plausible control distraction.

Conditions

Virtual Reality Amnesia

Keywords

immersive virtual reality distraction,; memory; see through VR

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Word Recall accuracy

  Number of study words recalled during an immediate recall task

  begin 15 seconds after the last word

• Subjective ratings of Distraction

  Participants rated how distracted they were in each treatment condition

  Measured immediately after the free recall of each word list.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• During Phase 2, VR pain reduction was measured

  subjective pain ratings measured immediately after each brief thermal stimulus

Study Arms (2)

High Tech virtual reality

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants used their cyberhands to interact with virtual objects while in immersive virtual reality, while they listen to and memorize a list of 15 study words rea to them from the real world.

Behavioral: Immersive Virtual Reality

Low Tech VR

SHAM COMPARATOR

Participants wore an Apple Vision Pro VR goggles that allowed them to see the real world in their VR goggles, via video streaming from cameras mounted on the VR helmet, while memorizing a list of words they heard from the real world.

Behavioral: Plausible control condition

Interventions

Immersive Virtual Reality BEHAVIORAL

While wearing an immersive VR helmet, participants grabbed virtual objects andd put them into a bowl of virtual water, while memorizing a list of words from the real world.

High Tech virtual reality

Plausible control condition BEHAVIORAL

Participant passively viewed the laboratory room they saw while wearing Apple Vision Pro goggles, while memorizing a list of words read to them from the real world.

Low Tech VR

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Currently enrolled in a course at the University of Washington Psychology Dept., participating in the UW Psychology subject pool
• Able to read, write and comprehend English
• Able to complete study measures
• Willing to follow our UW approved instructions
• years of age or older

You may not qualify if:

• People who have already previously participated in this same study (e.g., last quarter) are not eligible to participate again.
• Not enrolled in a course at the University of Washington Psychology Dept., not participating in the UW Psychology subject pool
• Not be able to read, write and comprehend English
• Younger than 18 years of age.
• Not capable of completing measures
• Not capable of indicating pain intensity,
• Not capable of filling out study measures,
• Extreme susceptibility to motion sickness,
• Seizure history,
• Unusual sensitivity or lack of sensitivity to pain,
• Sensitive skin,
• Sensitive feet
• Migraines
• Diabetes

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Washington: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington, 98195, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Hoffman HG, Fontenot MR, Garcia-Palacios A, Greenleaf WJ, Alhalabi W, Curatolo M, Flor H. Adding tactile feedback increases avatar ownership and makes virtual reality more effective at reducing pain in a randomized crossover study. Sci Rep. 2023 May 22;13(1):7915. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31038-4.

  PMID: 37217536 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Hunter Hoffman, PhD

  University of Washington

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: The use of a plausible control condition helped mask the participants.
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research Scientist at the UW Dept of Mechanical Engineering

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 10, 2025
• First Posted: September 19, 2025
• Study Start: May 31, 2024
• Primary Completion: February 11, 2025
• Study Completion: February 11, 2025
• Last Updated: September 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: De-identified summarized aggregated data will be available upon publication in a peer reviewed journal until 2030
• Access Criteria: summarized aggregate data will be made available upon reasonable request by e-mailing the primary contact.

Locations

US (1)