November 6, 2007 -
Substance abuse in video games is often targeted by critics who fear it will encourage the use of illegal drugs.But when a new Duke University project leads players into a virtual reality crack house, it's by way of treating their existing addiction.
As reported by ABC News, Duke prof Zach Rosenthal designed the game, which actually seeks to place addicts in tempting situations. Said Rosenthal:
What we're trying to do is take people into a virtual crack-related neighborhood or crack-related setting and have them experience cravings, just like they would in the real world.
Rosenthal told ABC that cravings are learned behavior. Hopefully, the game will teach addicts not to crave. Here's how it works:
When temptation arises [in game]... the patient rates his or her own craving level. But the magic moment comes when a high craving subsides, which it does, because the patient won't be taking drugs in the virtual world.
The therapist tries to tie that moment, when a craving subsides, to a trigger, like a tone. So the addict eventually learns to associate the sound with the sensation of decreased craving...
For example, if an addict ends up in a [real world] tempting situation, he or she can take out the phone donated by the program, dial a number and hear that tone. The addict remembers the sound learned in the therapy session, and the craving should subside.
A 52-year-old drug addict was enthusiastic about the game's results:
The program has done wonders for me. Although I have fallen since I came out of the program, I am clean and have been clean for a good while.
The Durham, NC Police Department even provided help to the Duke research team by taking them drug use locations where the team took digital images for use in the game.
Comments
Gotcha, its hard to tell on forums at times :wink:
??......ok...sounds more like the last bad experience is what helped with teh change...
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As for "cravings" I can see how this program would help deal with non stress related issues but...... how dose the whole hunting for craving thing work because as I see it by the time they are near the crack house its too late...I do understanding every lil bit helps when dealing with addiction but.... it sounds somewhat ....fishy .....if they focused more on stress and the need for a fix....
I dunno maybe I am seeing things backwards.....maybe I have my brain in the wrong way today 0-o
now theres the connection my drug rattled brain missed :P
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
@ zippyDSMlee
I don't see how stress comes into cravings, can you clarify that for me?
But, if it helps, fair enough.
This can't be the solution. Pavlav's dogs? There's got to be more to it.
We can be pretty simple creatures at times.
I'm sure there is more to it. The sound heard won't immediately remove all cravings, but I imagine that it would help ground the addict a bit and offer them an additional tool to fight their battle.
The only addiction that I've ever overcome is smoking and I quit cold turkey after being a smoker for over a decade. In those first few weeks anything that could get me through a difficult craving was welcome. If listening to a particular sound helps people kick a crack habit then I say it's a good thing.
That was my first thought when I read about the sound. But I agree with Tom that anything that gets your mind off of the cravings can be a good thing.
Perhaps the sound is just a reminder to follow whatever steps they took in game to kick the craving.
Who knows until you have played it.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
There is. He's replaced Pavlov's dogs with crackheads and reversed it so that they stop slobbering when they hear a tone.
Seriously though, I have to wonder how well they actually manage to simulate a crackhouse and "tempting situations".
I quit cold turkey after being a smoker for over a decade. In those first few weeks anything that could get me through a difficult craving was welcome.
Ditto, after 3 years. Of course I just removed the stimuli that I associated with smoking. Namely working at a fast food joint. So no withdrawal for me. ;)
there's a few for the sims, one for Runescape etc...
the point being, i hear the music, i think of the game, subconsciously, like a memory. the same theory is being applied here;
people hear the sound, and it helps trigger the memory of the released craving, which in turn drops the craving substantially.
its using the force of habit against the force of addiction, two epic powers clashing for dominion... could be a good film in there :p
Its exactly like Pavlov's Dog. I think it will work.
Will it work on everyone?? No, but neither does Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Certain Medications, ect ect.
But, it will still help SOMEONE. And thats all that matters. Someone will be positively effected by this...its just that results may vary.
however, JT and others forget to differentiate between a person who is also being conditioned outside of the virtual realm at the same time (pilots, soldiers or the participants in the experiments mentioned here) and people who only play games (be it children, teens of mature adults).
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
Turn in your Penis, you've done it again.
Its good to see stories like this rather than same ol' stuff day in and day out.
And it's still not used to train soldiers. Gosh..
You know the rules, turn it in and you may have it at the end of the day.
LOL, not sure if that was sarcasm. If it wasn't, if you can explain how playing bowling, tennis or baseball on Wii sports trains military soldiers recuperaiting in hospitals from injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan I am all ears.
Sarcasm mate, sarcasm.
Stress or discomfort can lead to needing it more, at least from my prepctive, prehaps I am crossing my wires er thoughts
needing it "more" pre addiction to addiction cravings, my train of thought was it would be to use it it to create situational stress and teach how to deal with it.
witch it is but instead of dealing with the issues that drive people to become addicted it works on the cravings from the addiction.....
bah...me stupid brain has to sound it out to understand it >>
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BaronJuJu
Oh and "gaming" dose help to train soldiers..just not for killing ^^
last time I saw it in the news months ago it they were using a setup to help train coardation and local population (people skills) stuff.
Yeah I have seen that as well, pretty interesting stuff.
This isn't a forum.
I can. It's been done before..
But I would love this program to be released into the public so maybe we can use this program and expand this on other addictions.
Having never given up anything that wasn't prescribed I can't speak from experience, but it seems a fair principle. The tone is somewhat Pavlovial bit Pavlov works; we're creatures of routine. More than that though, it sounds to me like it's a change in reflex action. If you phone up to hear the tone, you've done something other than fulfil the craving. It's chewing gum to quit smoking.
November 6th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
@BaronJuJu
This isn’t a forum.
"
then quite trolling!
LOL
:P
Matthew
I think its about identifying bad behavior and understanding it personally so you can try and counter it.
if you think abotu it as a way to understand and counter bad habits it makes sense.
However for it to work on zippy a cowprod/tazer is still needed :P
Unless some idiot spins it to like "Crack house simulator now out, encouraging kids to break the law"
I see what you mean now when you're talking about stress. Well, I'm running on the assumption that since Dr.Rosenthal is talking about crack cocaine, addicts would want to get that high again and again, since the effects last very short and they often do it in a usual place (i.e. crack house).
But it's more understandable with stress when you deal with other drugs like heroine or alcohol.
@ everyone talking about pavlov
It does seem ridiculous to treat addiction with classical conditioning, but the principle do apply with addiction too. Our brain learn (with or without our awareness) to associate some stimuli to a specific response. So in effect, merely being in the crack house can elicit cravings because we learn to associate it to the cocaine highs. So Dr.Rosenthal would attempt to counter-condition that response with another stimuli associated to a more desirable response.
http://audability.com/AudabilityAdmin/Clients/BMO/10552_116200780000AM/p...
My trains of thoughts(yes with a S on both) can sometimes be out of order...or lost in the woods LOL.
I can see now its a different way to handle conditioning while preemptive conditioning and what not would be "better" life is rarely that simple, prehaps more conditioning types of VR training will be sparked from this for the longest we've had phobia re conditioning(hight,spiders,ect) the more fruit is bared the more variants can be made from it and the more people helped.
Now...I is off to find me trains >>
Here is a link to the VR Worlds 2 page - http://www.vrworlds2.com