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Guest Editorial: Interactive Virtual Environments for Neuroscience

V IRTUAL environment is a technology able to establish a relationship between the user and the environment created, enabling real-time integration with controlled virtual objects. A virtual environment can be explored through visual and haptic devices, without real restrictions. The iteration derives from the communication between human actions and the outcome of these actions, processed by the computer generating a response inside the virtual environment. The interaction can be passive, such as watching television, or active, for instance in the case of users manipulating their body movements or a particular object inside a virtual scenario. Virtual and augmented reality are computational technologies that provide artificial sensory feedback, allowing a user to experiment activities and events similar to those that can be found in real life and to develop motor and cognitive abilities in immersive three-dimensional environments that resemble the real world, besides being economically viable. Another reason for the growing use of this type of technology is the enhanced attractiveness of interactive environments in addition to the challenges posed by the environment in pursuit of conquests/rewards following the conclusion of a specific task. Virtual systems with clinical purposes have an important role in health care: they are easily manipulated by specialists as well as by patients, acting as a motivational source for continued treatment that is less aggressive and tedious than traditional treatments. It is worth emphasizing that the supervision of a clinical expert is extremely necessary for therapeutic success. Virtual environments are incorporated into off-the-shelf commercial entertainment applications or specially developed for clinical purposes. Lack of motivation and treatment withdrawal due to a delayed perception of patient’s progress are two important factors that physicians have to deal with. The use of virtual environments may, thus, be an interesting approach as a complement and alternative to conventional treatment for these patients, establishing a new standard in the individual’s rehabilitation strategy. Furthermore, virtual and augmented environments can provide cost-effective and highly detailed scenarios and settings to be used in medical education, ranging from teaching of complex anatomy or neurophysiological processes to specialized surgical training.