Multidimensional Assessment of Social Cognition in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study Using a Non-Immersive Virtual Reality Serious Game.

Introduction: Social cognition is frequently impaired in traumatic brain injury (TBI). The lack of naturalistic and integrated assessments of social cognition has been highlighted. We investigated REALSoCog's feasibility, a new non-immersive virtual reality serious game, in severe TBI. Additionally, we explored the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Methods: Ten severe TBI patients completed the REALSoCog task and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5. They were compared with 27 matched healthy controls.

Results: Reduced emotional empathy and difficulties in affective theory of mind were found in patients. PTSD was suspected in 60% of our sample. Individual analyses suggested that deficits in social-cognitive scores were more frequent in patients with PTSD.

Conclusions: This study underscored the relevance of REALSoCog for social cognition assessment. It also suggests the possibility to objectively identify social-behavioral disturbances in patients with severe TBI. Finally, the impact of individual factors (PTSD) on such difficulties should be further explored.