Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
3rd Department of Neurology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Alzheimers Dement. 2014 Nov;10(6):790-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.01.002. Epub 2014 Mar 18.
Virtual reality testing of everyday activities is a novel type of computerized assessment that measures cognitive, executive, and motor performance as a screening tool for early dementia. This study used a virtual reality day-out task (VR-DOT) environment to evaluate its predictive value in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
One hundred thirty-four patients with MCI were selected and compared with 75 healthy control subjects. Participants received an initial assessment that included VR-DOT, a neuropsychological evaluation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, and event-related potentials (ERPs). After 12 months, participants were assessed again with MRI, ERP, VR-DOT, and neuropsychological tests.
At the end of the study, we differentiated two subgroups of patients with MCI according to their clinical evolution from baseline to follow-up: 56 MCI progressors and 78 MCI nonprogressors. VR-DOT performance profiles correlated strongly with existing predictive biomarkers, especially the ERP and MRI biomarkers of cortical thickness.
Compared with ERP, MRI, or neuropsychological tests alone, the VR-DOT could provide additional predictive information in a low-cost, computerized, and noninvasive way.
日常活动的虚拟现实测试是一种新型的计算机评估方法,可作为早期痴呆症的筛查工具,衡量认知、执行和运动能力。本研究使用虚拟现实外出任务 (VR-DOT) 环境来评估其在轻度认知障碍 (MCI) 患者中的预测价值。
选择了 134 名 MCI 患者,并与 75 名健康对照组进行了比较。参与者接受了初步评估,包括 VR-DOT、神经心理学评估、磁共振成像 (MRI) 扫描和事件相关电位 (ERP)。12 个月后,再次对参与者进行 MRI、ERP、VR-DOT 和神经心理学测试评估。
在研究结束时,我们根据患者从基线到随访的临床演变将 MCI 患者分为两个亚组:56 名 MCI 进展者和 78 名 MCI 非进展者。VR-DOT 表现与现有的预测生物标志物密切相关,尤其是 ERP 和皮质厚度的 MRI 生物标志物。
与 ERP、MRI 或神经心理学测试单独相比,VR-DOT 可以以低成本、计算机化和非侵入性的方式提供额外的预测信息。