TY - JOUR
T1 - VStore
T2 - Feasibility and acceptability of a novel virtual reality functional cognition task
AU - Porffy, Lilla A.
AU - Mehta, Mitul A.
AU - Mouchlianitis, Elias
AU - Shergill, Sukhi S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper represents independent research part funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. SS is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Porffy, Mehta, Mouchlianitis and Shergill.
PY - 2022/11/2
Y1 - 2022/11/2
N2 - Virtual reality (VR) is becoming an increasingly popular tool in neuroscience and mental health research. In recent years, efforts have been made to virtualise neuropsychological testing with the intent to increase the ecological validity of cognitive assessments. However, there are some limitations in the current literature—feasibility and acceptability data are often not reported or available and sample sizes have generally been small. In this study, we describe the development and establish the feasibility and acceptability of use of a novel functional cognition VR shopping task, VStore, in three separate samples with data from a total of 210 participants. Two samples include healthy volunteers between the ages of 20 and 79 and there is one clinical cohort of patients with psychosis. Main VStore outcomes were: 1) verbal recall of 12 grocery items, 2) time to collect items, 3) time to select items on a self-checkout machine, 4) time to make the payment, 5) time to order hot drink, and 6) total time. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed by the completion rate across the three studies. VR induced adverse effects were assessed pre- and post-VStore administration to establish tolerability. Finally, as an exploratory objective, VStore’s ability to differentiate between younger and older age groups, and between patients and matched healthy controls was examined as preliminary indication of its potential utility. The overall completion rate across the studies was exceptionally high (99.95%), and VStore did not induce any adverse effects. Additionally, there was a clear difference in VStore performance metrics between both the patients and controls and between younger and older age groups, suggesting potential clinical utility of this VR assessment. These findings demonstrate that VStore is a promising neuropsychological tool that is well-tolerated and feasible to administer to both healthy and clinical populations. We discuss the implications for future research involving neuropsychological testing based on our experience and the contemporary literature.
AB - Virtual reality (VR) is becoming an increasingly popular tool in neuroscience and mental health research. In recent years, efforts have been made to virtualise neuropsychological testing with the intent to increase the ecological validity of cognitive assessments. However, there are some limitations in the current literature—feasibility and acceptability data are often not reported or available and sample sizes have generally been small. In this study, we describe the development and establish the feasibility and acceptability of use of a novel functional cognition VR shopping task, VStore, in three separate samples with data from a total of 210 participants. Two samples include healthy volunteers between the ages of 20 and 79 and there is one clinical cohort of patients with psychosis. Main VStore outcomes were: 1) verbal recall of 12 grocery items, 2) time to collect items, 3) time to select items on a self-checkout machine, 4) time to make the payment, 5) time to order hot drink, and 6) total time. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed by the completion rate across the three studies. VR induced adverse effects were assessed pre- and post-VStore administration to establish tolerability. Finally, as an exploratory objective, VStore’s ability to differentiate between younger and older age groups, and between patients and matched healthy controls was examined as preliminary indication of its potential utility. The overall completion rate across the studies was exceptionally high (99.95%), and VStore did not induce any adverse effects. Additionally, there was a clear difference in VStore performance metrics between both the patients and controls and between younger and older age groups, suggesting potential clinical utility of this VR assessment. These findings demonstrate that VStore is a promising neuropsychological tool that is well-tolerated and feasible to administer to both healthy and clinical populations. We discuss the implications for future research involving neuropsychological testing based on our experience and the contemporary literature.
KW - ageing
KW - cognition
KW - cognitive assessment
KW - functional cognition
KW - neuropsychological testing
KW - psychosis
KW - virtual reality
KW - virtual reality assessment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85142106475&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/frvir.2022.875197
DO - 10.3389/frvir.2022.875197
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85142106475
SN - 2673-4192
VL - 3
JO - Frontiers in Virtual Reality
JF - Frontiers in Virtual Reality
M1 - 875197
ER -
