From Social Robotics to Ecological Cognitive Care: An Enaction-Based Umbrella Review on Neurocognitive Disorders

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Cognitive Science
• Human-Robot Interaction
• Neurorehabilitation

Background:

• Rising dementia prevalence necessitates innovative neurorehabilitation approaches.
• Emerging strategies focus on holistic, person-centered care beyond performance outcomes.
• The extended mind thesis supports using external tools for cognitive support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize evidence on Social Assistive Robotics (SAR) in neurorehabilitation.
• To evaluate robotic interventions within an enactive framework (mind, body, environment, technology).
• To explore SAR's potential for addressing cognitive, emotional, and social needs.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search across major scientific databases.
• Umbrella review methodology using vote-counting for non-quantitative synthesis.
• Adherence to JBI and Cochrane guidelines for methodological rigor.

Main Results:

• Sixteen reviews were analyzed, with significant benefits found for affective outcomes (emotional response, social interaction; p=0.007).
• Cognitive, anxiety, agitation, depression, and quality of life outcomes showed mixed or non-significant effects.
• No benefits were observed for neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Methodological limitations in primary studies hinder interpretability of current evidence.
• This umbrella review identifies systematic gaps to guide future research directions.
• Integrating SAR into experiential neurorehabilitation offers a promising holistic approach beyond task-based performance.