AR interventions for mental health may be particularly powerful as they allow users to interact with virtual objects placed in the real world in real time ( Benyousef et al., 2017). AR provides a continuous view of the physical world with an additional digital overlay, whereas pure VR does not incorporate the real world resulting in a fully synthetic artificial environment for users. When used as a mobile phone application, AR systems use the camera to view the real world and then superimposes in virtual elements, creating an augmented view of reality with additional sensory and perceptual features. While VR provides a 360-degree fully simulated virtual environment, AR is distinguished as any technological system that combines real and virtual objects ( Azuma, 1997). To compare and contrast, VR and AR exist at opposing ends of the reality-virtuality continuum, but can be combined to create a spectrum of mixed virtual and augmented reality experiences ( Milgram and Kishino, 1994). While a substantial amount of research and design has focused on virtual reality (VR) systems with mental health applications ( Malbos et al., 2013 Maples-Keller et al., 2017), comparatively less exists in the way of augmented reality (AR) applications ( Pallavicini and Bouchard, 2019). Although burgeoning, scientific research and design are still in a stage of relative infancy in terms of understanding and optimizing the use of digital reality in health psychology. Some clinical applications, such as virtual reality-based exposure therapy for phobias ( Bouchard et al., 2007) and PTSD ( Motraghi et al., 2014), or for rehabilitation after stroke (e.g., Laver et al., 2015) are demonstrative of the unique and beneficial contribution of this technology. Developments over the last decade have allowed high quality virtual reality and augmented reality to be experienced with modern handheld smartphone devices, expanding the reach and potential impact of many health and wellness-promoting products and services. There has been a surge in the interest and application of home and mobile technologies to help deliver health and wellbeing programs and interventions. These results provide early support for the therapeutic potential of AR-integrated meditations as a tool for the self-regulation of mood and emotion, and sets the stage for more research and development into health and wellness-promoting AR applications. Engagement was favorable for both versions of the AR experience, with higher levels of engagement reported with the addition of neurofeedback. The changes in resting state EEG were also comparable between groups, with some trending differences observed, in line with existing research on open heart and other loving-kindness and compassion-based meditations. Results demonstrated that both versions of the AR meditation significantly reduced negative mood and increased positive mood. EEG activity was analyzed as a function of the frontal, midline, and parietal scalp regions, and with sLORETA current source density estimates of anterior cingulate and insular cortical regions of interest. Participants also reported on engagement and perceived use of the experience as a stress and coping tool. Self-reported mood state and resting-state EEG were recorded before and after the AR intervention for both groups. Using a randomized between-group design subjects participated in the AR experience or the AR experience plus frontal gamma asymmetry neurofeedback integrated into the experience. In the current study, we examined the impact of a brief open heart meditation AR experience on participants with moderate levels of anxiety and/or depression. This is particularly true for the use of AR for the self-management of stress, anxiety, and mood. However, the applications and psychological outcomes of augmented reality (AR) technologies still remain to be widely explored and evaluated. Research and design of virtual reality technologies with mental-health focused applications has increased dramatically in recent years.
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