Virtual Reality Assessment of Attention Deficits in Traumatic Brain Injury: Effectiveness and Ecological Validity

Abstract

Early detection is crucial for addressing attention deficits commonly associated with Traumatic brain injury (TBI), informing effective rehabilitation planning and intervention. While traditional neuropsychological assessments have been conventionally used to evaluate attention deficits, their limited ecological validity presents notable challenges. This study explores the efficacy and validity of a novel virtual reality test, the Computerized Battery for the Assessment of Attention Disorders (CBAAD), among a cohort of TBI survivors (n = 20), in comparison to a healthy control group (n = 20). Participants, ranging in age from 21 to 62 years, were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, including the CBAAD and the Attention Related Cognitive Errors Scale. While variations in attentional performance were observed across age cohorts, the study found no statistically significant age-related effects within either group. The CBAAD demonstrated sensitivity to attentional dysfunction in the TBI group, establishing its value as a comprehensive test battery for assessing attention in this specific population. Regression analyses demonstrated the CBAAD’s effectiveness in predicting real-life attentional errors reported by TBI patients. In summary, the CBAAD demonstrates sensitivity to attentional dysfunction in TBI patients and the ability to predict real-world attentional errors, establishing its value as a comprehensive test battery for assessing attention in this specific population. Its implementation holds promise for enhancing the early identification of attentional impairments and facilitating tailored rehabilitation strategies for TBI patients.

Nesplora’s Aquarium and Aula

Finally, Voinescu et al. assessed sustained attention by using a VR adaption of the classical Continuous Performance Test (CPT) paradigm, the Nesplora Aquarium, which showed adequate convergent validity to traditional CPT measures of attention and inhibition and predictive validity of depression and anxiety symptoms in healthy participants, too.

To summarize, the use of VR is rapidly gaining ground in the field of neuropsychological assessment. A possible explanation for using VR rehabilitation treatments for participants of different genders and socio-cognitive backgrounds is referred to as follows: (a) the first-person perspective of users with the illusion of possible movements that are projected in simulated realistic contexts and (b) the ergonomic/naturalistic simulated interactions among users and digital elements that approximate real-life physical interactions, which can mitigate users’ movement omission errors in real time.