Available Virtual Reality-Based Tools for Executive Functions: A Systematic Review.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Executive dysfunctions significantly impact daily life, necessitating effective real-world assessment and rehabilitation strategies.
• Traditional neuropsychological tests face ecological limitations in real-life scenarios.
• Virtual Reality (VR) presents an innovative approach to overcome these limitations for evaluating and rehabilitating Executive Functions (EFs).

Approach:

• A systematic literature review was conducted.
• Searched PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and Web of Science databases up to November 2021.
• Included 100 original manuscripts using keywords 'Virtual Reality' and 'Executive function*'.

Key Points:

• Identified and analyzed VR-based tools for EFs evaluation and rehabilitation.
• Assessed the applicability of VR tools in ecological contexts.
• Examined VR tool effectiveness in both healthy and clinical populations.

Conclusions:

• Available VR-based tools show significant promise for ecological assessment and treatment of EFs.
• VR technology facilitates real-world rehabilitation and evaluation of Executive Functions.
• This review provides a comprehensive overview of current VR tools for EFs.