Butti Niccolò, Biffi Emilia, Romaniello Romina, Finisguerra Alessandra, Valente Enza Maria, Strazzer Sandra, Borgatti Renato, Urgesi Cosimo
Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2024 May 3. doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06349-8.
This study tested the feasibility and efficacy of a Virtual Reality (VR) social prediction training (VR-Spirit) specifically designed for patients with congenital cerebellar malformation. The study is a randomised controlled trial in which 28 cerebellar patients aged 7-25 yo were randomly allocated to the VR-Spirit or to a control intervention in VR. The VR-Spirit required participants to compete with different avatars in scenarios that prompted them to form predictions about avatars' intentions. The control intervention consisted of games currently adopted for motor rehabilitation. Social prediction as well as secondary neuropsychological and behavioural outcomes were assessed at the beginning (T0), at the end (T2) and after 2 months (T3). The experimental group showed a significant increase, compared to the control participants, in social prediction assessed through a VR task. Moreover, at least at T3, the VR-Spirit enhanced the use of contextual predictions in a computer-based action prediction task. Importantly, these effects were generalized to secondary neuropsychological outcomes, specifically theory of mind and, only at T2, inhibition. No differences between the interventions were detected on emotional-behavioural problems. Lastly, both interventions showed high feasibility and acceptability. These findings confirm that it is possible to develop condition-specific rehabilitative training on the basis of neurocognitive functions impaired in case of congenital malformation. The VR-Spirit demonstrated to generalize its effects to theory of mind abilities, and it might be thus extended to other neurodevelopmental disorders that present social perception deficits and alterations of predictive processing.Trial registration: ISRCTN, ID: ISRCTN22332873. Retrospectively registered on 12 March 2018.
本研究测试了专门为先天性小脑畸形患者设计的虚拟现实（VR）社交预测训练（VR-Spirit）的可行性和有效性。该研究是一项随机对照试验，将28名7至25岁的小脑疾病患者随机分配到VR-Spirit组或VR对照干预组。VR-Spirit要求参与者在各种场景中与不同的虚拟角色竞争，促使他们对虚拟角色的意图进行预测。对照干预包括目前用于运动康复的游戏。在开始时（T0）、结束时（T2）和2个月后（T3）评估社交预测以及继发性神经心理学和行为结果。与对照组参与者相比，实验组通过VR任务评估的社交预测有显著提高。此外，至少在T3时，VR-Spirit增强了基于计算机的动作预测任务中情境预测的使用。重要的是，这些效果推广到了继发性神经心理学结果，特别是心理理论，并且仅在T2时，抑制作用也有改善。在情绪行为问题方面未发现干预措施之间的差异。最后，两种干预措施都显示出高度的可行性和可接受性。这些发现证实，有可能根据先天性畸形情况下受损的神经认知功能开展针对特定疾病的康复训练。VR-Spirit已证明其效果可推广到心理理论能力，因此可能扩展到其他存在社会认知缺陷和预测处理改变的神经发育障碍。试验注册：ISRCTN，编号：ISRCTN22332873。于2018年3月12日进行回顾性注册。
