Immersive Virtual Reality for the Assessment and Training of Spatial Memory: Feasibility in Individuals with Brain Injury

Abstract

Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) shows promise for cognitive diagnostics and rehabilitation as it can present individuals with cognitive impairment with realistic, life-like environments, and allows to precisely record behavioral performance to infer indicators of cognitive processes. The aims of our study were to (1) determine the feasibility in using immersive VR in individuals with acquired brain injury, and detect limits in its applicability, and (2) estimate the extent to which the immersion, sense of presence, usability and general motivational aspects, and side effects affect users’ experience. To that end, a novel VR task, the immersive Virtual Memory Task (imVMT), was developed and applied to measure the spatial memory. Preliminary data will be discussed with a focus on feasibility.