Clinical and neurobiological effects of real-life and virtual animal-assisted interventions for patients with depression

Psychiatry Res. 2025 Dec 19;357:116917. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116917. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have been shown to exert beneficial effects on various mental disorders. However, organizational, hygienic, and ethical challenges often limit their implementation. As a result, virtual alternatives are gaining increasing relevance. Initial findings suggest that digital interactions with animals may also elicit affective and physiological responses, although systematic, controlled studies are lacking. This study aimed to systematically compare the effects of real and virtual AAIs on depressive symptoms and peripheral oxytocin concentrations in patients with depression and healthy controls.

METHODS: In a mixed factorial design (N = 66), patients with depression and healthy controls each underwent three conditions in randomized order: interaction with a live therapy dog, a virtual therapy dog, and a virtual reality (VR)-based fantastical creature. Depressive symptoms (per the DASS) and salivary oxytocin concentrations were assessed.

RESULTS: All interventions significantly reduced depressive symptoms in patients, with the strongest effects observed for the live therapy dog and the VR-based fantastical creature. Oxytocin levels increased significantly across all conditions, regardless of participant group.

CONCLUSION: Virtual animal interactions can evoke psychophysiological effects comparable to real-life AAIs. They appear promising as accessible, technology-supported interventions for psychiatric populations, particularly when access to live animals is limited.

PMID:41461126 | DOI:10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116917