NEW STUDIES OFFER VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL VICTIMS OF SEPT. 11

The only medical center to offer virtual-reality therapy for Sept. 11-related PTSD, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell has proven the therapy effective and successfully treated patients since first offering it in 2002. The two new studies, which build on the established therapy, are the first to (1) employ a virtual-reality simulation of the interior of the World Trade Center buildings and (2) to offer virtual-reality therapy in conjunction with D-cycloserine, a drug that has been shown to enhance learning. In the virtual-reality therapy, patients wear a helmet that immediately immerses them in a three-dimensional environment -- when they look down or sideways, the scenery shifts.

Newswise (http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/523502%20)