Hadjiaros Marios, Shimi Andria, Neokleous Kleanthis, Pattichis Constantinos, Avraamides Marios
CYENS-Centre of Excellence, 1 Dimarchou Lellou Demetriadi, Nicosia, 1016, Cyprus, 357 99094970.
Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus.
JMIR Form Res. 2025 Jul 29;9:e65836. doi: 10.2196/65836.
BACKGROUND: Cognitive tasks are foundational tools in psychology and neuroscience for studying attention, perception, and memory. However, they typically employ simple or artificial stimuli and require numerous repetitive trials, which can adversely affect participant engagement and ecological validity. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether gamified versions of 3 established cognitive tasks, namely, the Visual Search task (attention), the Whack-the-Mole task (response inhibition), and the Corsi block-tapping test (visual short-term memory), replicate the typical patterns of results reported for their traditional counterparts. It also examined whether the method of administration-in immersive virtual reality (VR) versus desktop computer, and in the laboratory versus at home-influences performance. METHODS: Seventy-five participants (male=24, female=51; age range 18-35 years; mean 23.15, SD 4.38 years) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 administration conditions (n=25 each). In the VR-Lab condition, participants completed the tasks in immersive VR within the laboratory; in the Desktop-Lab condition, they completed the tasks on a 2D desktop screen in the laboratory; and in the Desktop-Remote condition, participants completed the tasks on their personal computers at home. All participants completed the same gamified tasks while seated, entering responses with either a mouse or a VR controller, depending on the condition. RESULTS: The results obtained from these gamified tasks across all 3 administration conditions replicated the typical performance patterns observed with their traditional counterparts, despite using more ecologically valid stimuli and fewer trials. However, administration modality did influence certain performance measures, particularly reaction times (RTs) and task efficiency. Specifically, in the Visual Search task, RTs were significantly faster in the VR-Lab condition (mean 1.24 seconds) than in the Desktop-Lab (mean 1.49 seconds; P<.001) and Desktop-Remote (mean 1.44 seconds; P=.008) conditions. In the Whack-the-Mole task, no significant group differences emerged in d' scores (VR-Lab: mean 3.79, Desktop-Remote: mean 3.75, Desktop-Lab: mean 3.62; P=.49), but RTs were slower in the Desktop-Remote condition (mean 0.64 seconds) than in the VR-Lab (mean 0.41 seconds; P<.001) and Desktop-Lab (mean 0.48 seconds; P<.001) conditions. For the Corsi block-tapping test, no significant group differences in span scores were found (VR-Lab: mean 5.48, Desktop-Lab: mean 5.68, and Desktop-Remote: mean 5.24; P=.24). Finally, a significant positive correlation was observed between RTs for Hits in the Whack-the-Mole task and feature search trials in the Visual Search task (r=0.24; P=.04). CONCLUSIONS: Gamified cognitive tasks administered in VR replicated established behavioral patterns observed with their traditional versions while improving ecological validity and reducing task duration. Administration modality had limited effects on overall outcomes, although RTs were slower in remote settings. These findings support the feasibility of using gamified VR tasks for scalable and ecologically valid cognitive assessment. Overall, the study underscores the potential of VR to increase participant engagement and enrich cognitive research through more immersive and motivating testing environments.
背景:认知任务是心理学和神经科学中用于研究注意力、感知和记忆的基础工具。然而,它们通常采用简单或人工的刺激,并且需要大量重复试验,这可能会对参与者的参与度和生态效度产生不利影响。 目的:本研究调查了3种既定认知任务的游戏化版本,即视觉搜索任务(注意力)、打地鼠任务(反应抑制)和科西方块敲击测试(视觉短期记忆),是否能复制其传统对应任务所报告的典型结果模式。它还研究了给药方式——沉浸式虚拟现实(VR)与台式电脑,以及在实验室与在家中——是否会影响表现。 方法:75名参与者(男性24名,女性51名;年龄范围18 - 35岁;平均23.15岁,标准差4.38岁)被随机分配到3种给药条件中的1种(每种条件25人)。在VR实验室条件下,参与者在实验室的沉浸式VR中完成任务;在桌面实验室条件下,他们在实验室的二维桌面屏幕上完成任务;在桌面远程条件下,参与者在家用个人电脑上完成任务。所有参与者就座时完成相同的游戏化任务,根据条件用鼠标或VR控制器输入反应。 结果:在所有3种给药条件下从这些游戏化任务中获得的结果复制了与其传统对应任务所观察到的典型表现模式,尽管使用了更具生态效度的刺激且试验次数更少。然而,给药方式确实影响了某些表现指标,特别是反应时间(RTs)和任务效率。具体而言,在视觉搜索任务中,VR实验室条件下的RTs(平均1.24秒)明显快于桌面实验室(平均1.49秒;P <.001)和桌面远程(平均1.44秒;P =.008)条件。在打地鼠任务中,d'分数没有显著的组间差异(VR实验室:平均3.79,桌面远程:平均3.75,桌面实验室:平均3.62;P =.49),但桌面远程条件下的RTs(平均0.64秒)比VR实验室(平均0.41秒;P <.001)和桌面实验室(平均
2025-1
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021-12-21
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021-4-19
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018-3-1
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005-7-20
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020-1-9
Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2024-12-20
Front Psychol. 2020-3-10