# Virtual Reality Attention Management Program for Improving Attention in Children

> **NIH NIH R33** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2020 · $589,742

## Abstract

Distraction is a growing and large public health problem with estimated societal harm due to distracted
driving alone at $123 billion1. In the age of texting, social media and computer pop-ups, distractions are
unavoidable. There are no known interventions specifically developed to reduce distractions from interfering with
attention. This project will test a treatment that combines virtual reality (VR) technology with habituation learning
and exposure therapy to reduce the ability of distractors to interfere with learning and attention in children who
are highly susceptible to being distracted. We will test the treatment in children with symptoms of attention-
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as they represent an enriched sample experiencing impairing distractibility
that interferes with their daily functioning. We hypothesize that children who suffer from severe distractibility can
learn to ignore the distractors and improve their attention in VR therapy that simulates environments requiring
focused attention. Our neural targets are both proactive and reactive control mechanisms used to suppress
distractor processing. We will assess how well VR therapy is at modulating distractor suppression via saccade
metrics and measure the frequency of oculomotor capture by distractors as well as the efficiency of distractor
suppression before and after therapy. Changes in head movement toward distractors, parent and teacher ADHD
rating scales and improved performance on attention-demanding tasks will further assess success of the therapy
and its ability to generalize to novel environments. Children will practice computer exercises at home using a VR
headset that simulates a classroom environment with a high rate of distractors. Children will be performing
attention-demanding tasks as if they were in a classroom with the intensity and rate of presentation of the
personalized distractions (e.g., peers talking, teacher walking by) adapted according to the child’s performance.
With today’s low-cost VR-gaming technology, children will be able to participate in habituation treatment sessions
at-home, several times a week, using a lightweight and comfortable VR gaming headset.
 In this “fast fail” test of the VR therapy, the R61 phase will assess the preliminary success and feasibility
of VR training to modify saccades to distractors in an adaptive training versus waitlist control trial. The R33 phase
will commence if the R61 trial results indicate saccade metrics change in response to the VR treatment.
Consistent with the RFA, the R33 will test the link between the degree of the VR therapy’s target engagement
and functional outcomes (parent & teacher ratings) and feasibility. The R33 will compare an adaptive distractor
training, non-adaptive distractor training and a waitlist control arm in children with high rates of distractibility.
Data from this trial will determine whether to go forward for a subsequent confirmatory study in a larger, R01
project. Futur...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9795084
- **Project number:** 4R33MH110043-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** JULIE B. SCHWEITZER
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $589,742
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2017-02-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9795084

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9795084, Virtual Reality Attention Management Program for Improving Attention in Children (4R33MH110043-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9795084. Licensed CC0.

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