Parra Mario A, Kaplan Rini I
a School of Social Sciences, Psychology , University Heriot-Watt , Edinburgh , UK.
b Human Cognitive Neuroscience , Edinburgh University , Edinburgh , UK.
Exp Aging Res. 2019 Mar-Apr;45(2):180-198. doi: 10.1080/0361073X.2019.1586106. Epub 2019 Mar 21.
Virtual reality applications to assist older adult with cognitive and functional decline are fast growing. However, such technological developments face limitations such as due to limited constructs and ecological validity. This study was aimed at investigating age-related changes in functional abilities and their associated cognitive underpinnings during task performance in virtual and real environments.
Twenty-two younger adults (university students) and 22 older adults (aged 58-74) performed a multiple errands task twice, once in the "Discoveries" section of the National Museum of Scotland and once in the same room as a virtual environment. Accuracy and distance traveled were measured in both groups. Cognitive and daily living abilities were recorded in older adults using standard and novel questionnaires.
The testing environment had a significant effect on how efficient individuals performed the task. Older and younger adults' performance was alike but older adults relied on more cognitive resources. Older adults struggled in the virtual but not in the real environment. Younger but not older adults could transfer knowledge between environments.
The use of technology to assist frail older adults and those affected by dementia is growing rapidly. For these novel tools to be theoretically valid, they need to incorporate knowledge of the challenges they pose to these vulnerable groups. Here we present evidence of such challenges and their cognitive underpinnings. This theory may be considered by future applications aimed at enhancing functional abilities in these populations.
用于帮助认知和功能衰退老年人的虚拟现实应用正在迅速发展。然而，此类技术发展面临一些限制，比如结构有限和生态效度问题。本研究旨在调查在虚拟环境和现实环境中执行任务期间，功能能力的年龄相关变化及其相关的认知基础。
22名年轻成年人（大学生）和22名老年人（年龄在58 - 74岁之间）两次执行多项差事任务，一次在苏格兰国家博物馆的“发现”区域，一次在与虚拟环境相同的房间。测量了两组的准确性和行进距离。使用标准和新颖的问卷记录了老年人的认知和日常生活能力。
测试环境对个体执行任务的效率有显著影响。老年人和年轻人的表现相似，但老年人依赖更多的认知资源。老年人在虚拟环境中遇到困难，但在现实环境中没有。年轻人能够在不同环境之间转移知识，而老年人则不能。
利用技术帮助体弱老年人和痴呆症患者的应用正在迅速增加。为使这些新颖工具在理论上有效，它们需要纳入对这些弱势群体所构成挑战的认识。在此，我们展示了此类挑战及其认知基础的证据。未来旨在提高这些人群功能能力的应用可能会考虑这一理论。
