Immersive virtual reality interferes with default head-trunk coordination strategies in young children

Virtual emotions and Criminal Law

This article examines the role that Criminal Law should play in regulating the non-therapeutic use of immersive Virtual Reality (VR), specifically its massive use by consumers. The starting point has been to consider VR as an intermediate risk scenario, for the purposes of Criminal Law, between the criminality entirely generated in the physical world and that developed in the 2D digital environments [cybercrimes and criminality linked to social networks and persuasive Artificial Intelligence (AI)]. Firstly, specialize literature has been analyzed to establish the nature of virtual reality. From a technical standpoint, virtual reality is a neurotechnology infused with high-risk artificial intelligence; an inseparable synthesis of non-invasive neurotechnology and a set of AI systems, considered high-risk for the fundamental rights of citizens. From the perspective of its functioning, VR is a "transformative" neurotechnology capable of altering what people perceive as reality. This is possible, because its realism lies in the emotional immersion of the user in the virtual experience, similarly to how our brain functions. Therefore, the key idea in the immersive functioning of virtual reality is its capacity to evoke and modify human emotions, which results its greater harmful potential compared to the 2D environment. From there, three central and specific areas of (legally unaddressed) risk arise: (1) the special comprehensive nature of the data collected and stored during its use; (2) its ability to mentally reproduce the "physical" experience of the avatar in the user; and (3) its significant capacity to manipulate individuals. Secondly, the paper examines both the reported cases and the foreseeable criminality in virtual worlds or "proto-metaverse," focusing on the three risk areas, and exemplifying them with attacks on mental privacy, sexual freedom, and consumer manipulation. Finally, it is proposed that Criminal Law should also intervene (as soon as possible) to define the "red lines" of massive virtual reality use by citizens. With a democratic and human-centered approach, a basic legal framework is outlined for the criminalization of specific harms and risks associated with virtual reality, adapting the existing legal framework as necessary.

Virtual Reality and Active Video Game Integration within an Intensive Bimanual Therapy Program for Children with Hemiplegia

AIMS

To describe the nature of custom and non-custom virtual reality and active video game (VR/AVG) implementation within a Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy Including Lower Extremities (HABIT-ILE) intervention program for children with hemiplegia.

METHODS

Six children aged 8-11 years participated in a 10-day HABIT-ILE intervention (65 h; 6.5 planned VR/AVG hours). VR/AVG implementation details were recorded daily and summarized with descriptive statistics; active motor engagement was quantified as minutes of active game participation. Post-intervention interviews with interventionists were analyzed with qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

On average, participants received 79% of the planned VR/AVG dosage (314/400 planned minutes, range 214-400 min), of which the per-session active motor engagement average was 68% (27 min, SD 12 min). Participation involved equivalent amounts of custom (49%) and non-custom (51%) VR/AVG system use. Material and verbal adaptations facilitated alignment with HABIT-ILE principles. Interventionists identified type of task (gross versus fine motor), children's perceived motivation, and VR/AVG attributes as factors influencing active motor engagement and alignment with HABIT-ILE principles.

CONCLUSIONS

Describing individual and technological challenges of VR/AVG integration within HABIT-ILE can advance knowledge about VR/AVG use in intensive interventions and identify directions for subsequent research.

Young children can use their subjective straight-ahead to remap visuo-motor alterations

Young children and adults process spatial information differently: the former use their bodies as primary reference, while adults seem capable of using abstract frames. The transition is estimated to occur between the 6th and the 12th year of age. The mechanisms underlying spatial encoding in children and adults are unclear, as well as those underlying the transition. Here, we investigated the role of the subjective straight-ahead (SSA), the body antero-posterior half-plane mental model, in spatial encoding before and after the expected transition. We tested 6-7-year-old and 10-11-year-old children, and adults on a spatial alignment task in virtual reality, searching for differences in performance when targets were placed frontally or sideways. The performance differences were assessed both in a naturalistic baseline condition and in a test condition that discouraged using body-centered coordinates through a head-related visuo-motor conflict. We found no differences in the baseline condition, while all groups showed differences between central and lateral targets (SSA effect) in the visuo-motor conflict condition, and 6-7-year-old children showed the largest effect. These results confirm the expected transition timing; moreover, they suggest that children can abstract from the body using their SSA and that the transition underlies the maturation of a world-centered reference frame.