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Beyond diagnosis: Why and how virtual reality should be used in research on neurodevelopmental conditions?
Marianna Muszynska1, Reeshu Varma1, Ori Ossmy2
1Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK; Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|June 27, 2026
Summary
Virtual reality (VR) offers new ways to study neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs). Researchers should use VR to test embodied cognition in daily tasks, enabling richer phenotyping and mechanistic insights.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Virtual reality (VR) has been used for assessing neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) like ADHD, ASD, and DCD.
- Current VR applications primarily focus on diagnostic tools in simulated environments.
- VR's potential for fundamental research into the mechanisms of NDCs remains largely untapped.
Purpose of the Study:
- To advocate for the use of VR in basic research on neurodevelopmental conditions.
- To highlight VR's capability in testing embodied cognitive mechanisms underlying NDCs.
- To encourage leveraging VR for ecologically valid, whole-body task simulations.
Main Methods:
- Systematically manipulating sensory and social experiences within VR simulations.
- Testing participants in active, whole-body tasks that mimic daily activities.
- Utilizing VR to control variables like distractor load, sensory congruence, social contingency, and action demands.
Main Results:
- VR enables concurrent recording of gaze, movement, and physiological data during tasks.
- This facilitates richer experimental phenotyping of NDCs compared to traditional methods.
- VR allows for mechanistic investigations difficult to conduct in de-contextualized lab settings or uncontrolled real-world observations.
Conclusions:
- VR is a powerful, underutilized tool for basic research on neurodevelopmental conditions.
- Future research should focus on VR's potential for understanding embodied cognition in NDCs.
- VR facilitates novel approaches to studying neurodiversity through simulated, real-world tasks.
