• The project of the IDIBGI and IAS Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Group adapts cognitive-behavioural therapy to an immersive virtual reality environment to reduce the levels of social anxiety in these people.
• The initiative has received the second prize for Research and Innovation on intellectual disability and neurodevelopmental disorders from the AMPANS Foundation, which was awarded on Tuesday in Manresa.
• The second Granés Fundació grant has enabled the incorporation of a pre-doctoral researcher to dedicate herself to it, and has also provided the IAS with the Ervi-Granés Fundació virtual reality space, which is used in this research.

A project of the research group on Neurodevelopmental Disorders of the Institute for Biomedical Research of Girona (IDIBGI) and the Institute for Health Care Assistance (IAS), in collaboration with the Granés Foundation, has been recognised by the AMPANS Foundation. The project, currently underway, studies the combination of Immersive Virtual Reality and cognitive-behavioural therapy to reduce social anxiety in people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and intellectual development, and is supported by the Granés Foundation. The study has been awarded the second Prize for Research and Innovation on Intellectual Disability and Neurodevelopmental Disorders of the AMPANS Foundation, which was awarded yesterday in Manresa.

The project began one year ago with a first pilot phase, which will lay the foundations for future research in which changes in brain connectivity will also be examined. The project is led by Dr. Susanna Esteba-Castillo, head of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders research group at IDIBGI and neuropsychologist at the IAS Mental Health and Addictions Network, who stresses: ‘Immersive Virtual Reality technology is especially useful in contexts that require a personalised approach’. Also part of the study are the pre-doctoral researcher Melissa Samaniego and the psychiatrists Aida Palacín and Laura Vergés.

The collaboration of the Granés Foundation has been key to the development of this research, both for the incorporation of the researcher Melissa Samianego to the IDIBGI research group thanks to the Second Granés Foundation Grant, which will be formalised in 2023 with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of the ERVI technology in patients with ASD. As well as the fact of having provided the immersive virtual reality space, ERVI - Granés Fundació, at the IAS, where the study is being carried out, to the Service of Intellectual Disability of the Martí i Julià Hospital in Salt.

‘One of the lines of work of Granés Fundació is research and investigation with the aim of generating new knowledge, in this case giving visibility and importance to research to reduce social anxiety in people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder’, explains Laura Masferrer, Manager of Granés Fundació.

Crèdit de la foto: Fundació AMPANS

About IDIBGI

The Institute for Biomedical Research of Girona Dr. Josep Trueta (IDIBGI) carries out translational research to improve people's health and care. IDIBGI is organised into 23 research groups divided into five scientific areas (Cardiovascular and Respiratory, Metabolism and Inflammation, Neurosciences, Oncohematology and Mental Health) that bring together more than 400 people, including health professionals and basic researchers, in the Girona region.

The IDIBGI is a public foundation made up of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Institut Català Salut (ICS) Girona, the Institut d'Assistència Sanitària (IAS), the Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO) Girona, and the Universitat de Girona. It has been a CERCA centre (Research Centres of Catalonia) since 2005.