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Updated: Jun 13, 2025
Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Virtual Reality Cognitive Remediation in Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder: The Effects on Cognitive Performance and
Diego Primavera1, Cesar Aviles Gonzalez1,2, Alessandra Perra1
1Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Introduction:
Dementia, depression, and cardiovascular disease are major public health concerns for older adults, requiring early intervention. This study investigates whether a virtual reality cognitive remediation program (VR-CR) can improve cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults, and determines the necessary sample size for future studies. Integrated VR and CR interventions have shown promising outcomes in older adults with neurodegenerative and mental health disorders.
Methods:
This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial involves adults aged 58-75 years with bipolar disorder, excluding those with acute episodes, epilepsy, or severe eye diseases. The experimental group received standard treatment plus VR-CR, while the control group received only standard treatment.
Results:
No baseline differences were found between the experimental and control groups. No significant improvement was observed in the overall cognitive function test (p = 0.897) or in depressive symptoms (p = 0.322). A phase III efficacy study requires a sample size of 28 participants (alpha = 0.05, beta = 0.20).
Conclusions:
VR-CR can potentially treat depressive symptoms in adults and older adults, but the results support conducting phase III studies to further investigate these outcomes. However, the improvement in cognitive performance in the elderly is less pronounced than in younger individuals.
