Profile

The main goal of the center is the application of virtual reality (VR) technology in comprehensive mental health care, education and research in the field of psychiatry and neuroscience. The main mission of the center is the care of mental health and the associated development and testing of innovative VR methods that could be applied in the field of diagnosis and therapy of neuropsychiatric diseases (especially anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, etc.) and rehabilitation of cognitive deficits (especially in neurodegenerative illness and schizophrenia).

Other activities of the center also include education in the field of mental health and mental illnesses using VR methods, which includes not only the education of health workers (psychologists and psychiatrists) in cooperation with the Third Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, but also the education of the professional and lay public.

The research activity of the center is oriented towards the use of VR technology in basic and applied neuroscience and psychological research, especially in the field of understanding cognitive processes (spatial orientation, memory) and related brain activity, or manifestations of mental illnesses. With regard to the interdisciplinary focus, our team consists of psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists and, of course, VR developers and programmers. The center's team closely cooperates not only with other research organizations and universities in the Czech Republic and abroad, but also with the private sector.

The VR center consists of sections corresponding to individual types of activities, i.e. clinical section (VR clinic), teaching section (VR classroom) and research section (VR laboratory).

Specification of activities and goals of individual sections of the center:

VR clinic - the clinical section is responsible for the development of VR therapeutic tools and their application in clinical research and practice.

VR laboratory - the research section is responsible for research in the field of neuroscience and neuropsychology using VR technology, especially in the field of testing cognitive functions and related brain activities.

VR classroom – the teaching section is responsible for the development and testing of VR methods intended for the teaching of psychiatry under the teaching workplace of Third Faculty of Medicine of Charles University.