Accepted_test

Protocol testing and electrophysiological changes associated with multitasking cognitive training in virtual reality
by Irina Tarasova | Darya Kupriyanova | Irina Kukhareva | Anastasia Sosnina | Irina Lyapina | Olga Trubnikova | Olga Barbarash | Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia | Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia | Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia | Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia | Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia | Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia | Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia
Abstract ID: 91
Event: BGRS-abstracts
Sections: [Sym 10] Section “Neuroimaging and genotyping technologies for the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric disorders; methods of disease correction based on feedback technology; brain-computer interface technologies”

Background and Aim: Virtual reality (VR) have a great potential for medical research and practice, making it possible to expand rehabilitation activities. The aim of this work was to evaluate the original protocol and examine the physiological effects of VR during multitasking CT in healthy subjects.
Materials and Methods: A specialized hardware and software VR complex with the original training protocol was tested on a group of 25 healthy individuals (15 women); the average age is 28.1±10.6 years). The VR complex was evaluated by participants with the System usability scale (SUS), immediately after the experiment. Standard neurological examinations, psychometric testing, and EEG studies were conducted before and after testing the VR complex.

Results: Average SUS score was 72.6±11.9 (max. 100). Six subjects experienced minor effects of vection after testing the VR complex. There was an improvement in attention and spatial skills after VR (p˂0.05). An alpha power increased as compared to pre-experiment levels (p˂0.0001). Additionally, the subjects indicated a slight decrease in theta power. The theta/alpha ratio has significantly decreased after the VR as compared to the baseline (p˂0.0001). Post-experimental alpha power have been found to be positively correlated with the mental rotation task and executive functions indicators after VR.

Conclusion: The obtained data shows that the developed complex for multitasking CT using VR with the original training protocol is acceptable and convenient for use by practically healthy people. Further studies are needed to confirm the availability of VR-based multi-tasking CT for patients with cognitive disorders, including postoperative cognitive dysfunction.