Opportunities for Virtual Reality in Cognitive Training with Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer's Disease

摘要

The present review discusses the current and potential applications of virtual reality as a tool in cognitive intervention programs with people with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by cognitive deterioration including memory difficulties. Mild cognitive impairment is currently identified as a pre-clinical phase of dementia which includes cognitive decline that is more significant than cognitive changes observed in healthy aging, but does not meet criteria for Alzheimer's. Current clinical and investigative approaches often use cognitive training paradigms as intervention treatments aimed at slowing cognitive decline in these clinical populations. Cognitive training programs often used controlled laboratory settings with paper and pencil tasks or computer interfaces; however, such programs are not necessarily ecologically sound. Tasks used during training do not guarantee that the observed improvements will carry over to the individual's daily activities. As such, the development of virtual reality cognitive training platforms may bridge the gap between individual task performance and real-life benefits. Differences in the definition and equipment used for virtual reality have been observed in the literature, most notably in the degree or quality of immersion and interactivity within the virtual environment. As such, most findings on intervention programs with people with dementia are limited to interactive computer-based training paradigms, and virtual reality is currently more utilised in rehabilitation settings. However, the use of this new technology as a cognitive intervention with dementia has many possibilities, as well as limitations, that will be described.