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May 20, 2013
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
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Jewish World Review
Virtual reality provides relief from soldiers' trauma
By
Peter Aldhous
New Scientist Magazine
Therapy attractive to those reluctant to discuss their feelings
JewishWorldReview.com |
Virtual reality simulations of combat are helping soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) find relief from their symptoms.
Robert McLay, of the U.S. Naval Medical Center, San Diego, Calif., has preliminary results from a trial comparing virtual reality with standard exposure therapy -- which helps patients to relearn their responses to stressful situations by focusing on the traumatic event in a controlled environment.
Soldiers with PTSD either discussed their most traumatic experience while looking at computer images of similar scenes, or they were immersed in virtual reality simulations, in which sights, sounds, vibrations and even smells could be tailored to their most traumatic memory.
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After nine weeks of treatment involving up to 18 sessions, both groups showed similar reductions in symptoms. Three months later, however, improvements in those given traditional therapy had largely disappeared. "But in the virtual reality group, the gains continued," says McLay, who described his results in May at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Philadelphia, Penn.
Greg Reger, of the U.S. National Center for Telehealth and Technology at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, says that some soldiers "unplug emotionally" to deal with repeated trauma. Virtual reality may help by reactivating the emotional engagement needed for exposure therapy to be effective.
Reger, who is running a similar trial, adds that virtual therapy may also be attractive to soldiers who are reluctant to discuss their feelings, but are comfortable playing video games. "This may well be a more acceptable form of treatment," he says.
McLay described his results this month at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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