Associative learning refers to our ability to learn about regularities in our environment. When a stimulus is repeatedly followed by a specific outcome, we learn to expect the outcome in the presence of the stimulus. We are also able to modify established expectations in the face of disconfirming information (the stimulus is no longer followed by the outcome). Both the change of environmental r...

The concept of Virtual Paths (VP) is a powerful technique to improve the transmission efficiency in ATM networks. Transmission efficiency can be improved by dynamically changing the bandwidths of the VPs, based on the demand. Intelligent controllers, which predict bandwidth-demand patterns to enable better VP management, have the potential to revolutionize ATM network performance. We present a ...

BACKGROUND Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) is found to be a promising and a viable alternative for in vivo exposure in the treatment of specific phobias. However, its usefulness for treating dental phobia is unexplored. The aims of the present study are to determine: (a) the efficacy of VRET versus informational pamphlet (IP) control group in terms of dental trait and state anxiety redu...

BACKGROUND Traditional one-session exposure therapy (OST) in which a patient is gradually exposed to feared stimuli for up to 3 h in a one-session format has been found effective for the treatment of specific phobias. However, many individuals with specific phobia are reluctant to seek help, and access to care is lacking due to logistic challenges of accessing, collecting, storing, and/or maint...

This randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of a stand-alone virtual reality exposure intervention comprising verbal interaction with virtual humans to target heterogeneous social fears in participants with social anxiety disorder. Sixty participants (Mage = 36.9 years; 63.3% women) diagnosed with social anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to individual virtual reality exposu...

Fear of flying is a serious problem that affects millions of individuals. Exposure therapy for fear of flying is an effective therapy technique. However, exposure therapy is also expensive, logistically difficult to arrange, and presents significant problems of patient confidentiality and potential embarrassment. We have developed a virtual airplane for use in fear of flying therapy. Using the ...

cognitive restructuring and exposure therapy have been integrated into a highly structured package for the treatment of social phobia termed cognitive-behavioral group therapy (cbgt). the first two sessions of cbgt for social phobia are devoted to training clients in the basic tenets of cognitive therapy. clients learn to identify their own irrational thoughts and to challenge the content of th...

torture entails the deliberate infliction of severe physical and mental pain and suffering through cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and punishment to silence individuals and oppositions to the ruling authorities. such victims experience mental death, difficulties in coping, memory and concentration impairment, loss of core beliefs, feelings of shame and guilt, mental defeat, and alienatio...

In virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET), patients are exposed to virtual environments that resemble feared real-life situations. The aim of the current study was to assess the extent to which VRET gains can be observed in real-life situations. We conducted a meta-analysis of clinical trials applying VRET to specific phobias and measuring treatment outcome by means of behavioral laboratory te...

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common metastatic malignancy and the second leading cause of death in women. Recently, extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) seem to modulate the rate of proliferation and enhance apoptosis and are considered as an emerging approach to cancer therapy. Despite recent success in the electromagnetic fields, the results are still neither d...