Interactive Journal of Medical Research

Objectives: Mindfulness practices mediated by immersive virtual reality (VR) have emerged as a novel mediator to deliver and potentially enhance mindfulness experiences and psychological well-being. Although psycho-technology is widely applied in clinical populations there remains a lack of methodological studies evaluating best practices for delivering such interventions to promote psychological well-being in the healthy population. This systematic review aimed to consolidate current evidence on the application of VR-based mindfulness interventions (VR-MBIs) to offer recommendations for future research directions and clinical applications. Method: A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted, according to PRISMA guidelines, to identify RCT peer-reviewed studies that combined immersive VR with mindfulness practices targeting healthy populations. Studies were included if they reported quantitative outcomes related to mood, affect and mindfulness changes. Results: Sixteen RCTs studies found that VR-MBIs led to significant improvements in various psychological outcomes compared to control conditions, including reductions in negative affect, anxiety, depression, and stress levels, as well as enhancements in positive affect, mindfulness state and psychological well-being. No significant neurophysiological markers of behavioural outcomes have consistently been described. Variability in control group types (i.e., no-treatment, mobile app, audio/video-based mindfulness) influenced comparative effectiveness between studies. Conclusions: Further research is needed to support the implementation of VR-MBIs not only for clinical purposes but also as a tool to promote psychological well-being in healthy populations. Despite the consistent and widespread psychological benefits, this field of study requires validation of neurophysiological markers, standardization of psychological measures and commercial tools delivering VR-MBIs. Preregistration: The study was preregistered (PROSPERO ID #1052725).

Objectives: This systematic review examined studies combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with virtual reality (VR) in healthy or non-clinical populations. The aim was to evaluate whether active tDCS provides additional benefits when delivered during VR-based tasks or interventions aimed at improving behavioral abilities. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search of electronic databases (2000–September 2025) identified randomized and non-randomized studies employing simultaneous tDCS and VR in healthy individuals. Studies reporting psychological or cognitive quantitative outcomes were included. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB-2 and ROBINS-I tools. Results: Twelve studies met inclusion criteria. The included studies were highly heterogeneous in terms of sample size, VR systems, stimulation parameters, targeted cortical regions, outcome measures, and control conditions. Most designs compared active tDCS during VR with sham tDCS during the same VR exposure. Therefore, the available evidence mainly addresses whether tDCS adds value to VR-based procedures, rather than whether tDCS and VR exert independent or synergistic effects. Some studies reported favorable between-group effects on emotional control or skill acquisition. However, in other cognitive domains both active and sham/control VR groups improved, suggesting that VR training or exposure itself may have contributed substantially to the observed changes. Moreover, small sample sizes, multiple outcome testing, and limited correction for multiple comparisons reduce confidence in borderline findings. Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that active tDCS may incrementally enhance selected VR-based outcomes in healthy populations, particularly in emotional control and skill-learning domains. However, the literature does not yet support strong claims of synergistic interaction between tDCS and VR. Future studies should use adequately powered factorial designs including VR-only, tDCS-only, combined, and sham/no-intervention conditions to disentangle independent, additive, and interaction effects.