Virtual Reality meets Noninvasive Brain Stimulation: a new tool for cognitive rehabilitation of Mild Cognitive Impairment [post]

Valentina Mancuso, Chiara Stramba-Badiale, Silvia Cavedoni, Elisa Pedroli, Pietro Cipresso, Giuseppe Riva
2020 unpublished
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) usually refers a perceived decline in cognitive functions which deeply impacts on elders' quality of life. It represents a critical risk factors for the developing of dementia, thus early detection of MCI and its cognitive rehabilitation are crucial. For this purpose current neuropsychological interventions have been integrated with two solutions: on one hand Virtual Reality (VR), in which the user is immersive in a controlled, ecological, and secure testing
more » ... onments, that revealed positive clinical outcomes in either cognitive and motor rehabilitation. On the other hand noninvasive brain stimulations (NBS), transcranial magnetic or electric stimulation of different brain regions, that emerged as promising cognitive treatment on MCI and Alzheimer disease. So far, these two methods have been employed separately except for few studies suggesting their integration in motor rehabilitation. Thus, we suggest to extend this integration to cognitive rehabilitation as well. On one hand NBS provide magnetic or electrical stimulations in a specific frail brain area. On the other hand VR is a simulative technology that provide multisensorial stimulation, higher sense of presence, engagement and motivation. We suggest that the integration of these two technologies could provide a multimodal stimulation that could enhance cognitive training, resulting in a more efficient rehabilitation. Details and advantages will be discussed in the perspective.
doi:10.31234/osf.io/cpxrb fatcat:27f4rsgv6rc7tjuc25shdmlzoe