St. Mauritius Therapieklinik, Meerbusch, Germany.
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Clinical Neuropsychology, Neuropsychological Therapy Centre, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2024 Jun;34(5):701-720. doi: 10.1080/09602011.2023.2236349. Epub 2023 Jul 19.
Virtual Reality has been shown to be a valid tool to assess cognitive functions in an ecologically valid way. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness as a treatment option for cognitive rehabilitation has been limited. Furthermore, its potential to facilitate the transfer of training effects to patients' everyday life is still poorly studied. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a VR-based attention training and its transfer to attentional functioning in everyday life. Nineteen inpatients with neurological disorders and attentional deficits underwent daily 30-min VR training sessions over a two-week period. Attentional functions were assessed before and after the training period using several computerized tests, two self-constructed behavioral tasks, and a questionnaire assessing patients' subjective attentional functioning. Pre-Post-analyses show significant decreases in reaction times in the computerized alertness and selective attention tests. Transfer to the behavioral tasks and self-report data could not be observed. Despite the specificity of the changes, confounding effects cannot entirely be ruled out due to the lack of a control group. Results suggest that training was effective in improving attentional functioning along neuropsychological measures, but did not elicit transfer to an ecologically valid or subjective level. Implications for the future development of VR interventions are discussed.
虚拟现实已被证明是一种评估认知功能的有效工具，可以在生态有效的方式下进行。然而，关于其作为认知康复治疗选择的有效性的证据一直有限。此外，其促进训练效果转移到患者日常生活中的潜力仍未得到充分研究。本研究旨在评估基于虚拟现实的注意力训练的效果及其对日常生活中注意力功能的转移。19 名患有神经障碍和注意力缺陷的住院患者在两周内每天接受 30 分钟的 VR 训练。在训练前后使用多种计算机测试、两个自我构建的行为任务和评估患者主观注意力功能的问卷评估注意力功能。预-后分析显示，计算机警觉性和选择性注意力测试的反应时间显著降低。在行为任务和自我报告数据中未观察到转移。尽管变化具有特异性，但由于缺乏对照组，无法完全排除混杂效应。结果表明，训练在神经心理学测量方面有效提高了注意力功能，但没有在生态有效或主观水平上产生转移。讨论了对未来虚拟现实干预措施发展的影响。
