Improving Everyday Task Performance Through Repeated Practice in Virtual Reality. (VKI)
Alzheimer Disease, Mild Dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Alzheimer Disease
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:
- 65 years or older;
- fluency in the English language;
- availability of an informant reporter who has knowledge of the participant's daily functioning;
- no lifetime history of severe psychiatric disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder), nervous system infections or disorders (e.g., epilepsy, brain tumor, large-vessel stroke, major head trauma) other than Alzheimer's disease;
- no current metabolic or systemic disorders (e.g., B12 deficiency, renal failure, cancer);
- no current major depression or moderate-severe depression symptoms;
- no current moderate - severe, uncontrolled anxiety symptoms;
- no severe sensory deficits that would preclude visual detection or identification of common everyday objects used in the study or the inability to hear the task directions (e.g., blindness, total hearing loss);
- no severe motor weakness that would preclude the use of everyday objects or the VR Training computer touch screen (e.g., severe deformities or paralysis of both upper extremities) ;
- intact estimated general intellectual functioning (i.e., no history of intellectual disability);
- available to participate in the one-month follow-up session after the VR Training (i.e., no surgery, travel, etc. scheduled over the next month);
- diagnosis of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease within the past year, including confirmation of mild to moderate dementia on Mini Mental Status Exam (score approximately 25 or lower), significant functional difficulties reported by informant report, and cognitive impairment on demographically adjusted (age, education, sex, and race) cognitive test scores at baseline.
An informant (N = 40) also will be recruited for each participant with dementia. Informants are people who know the participant well and interact with the participant on a daily basis. Informants will be asked to report on the participants' daily functioning and the extent to which the informant is burdened by the participants. Informants also will be asked to report on changes in medical or mental status during the study period. Informant eligibility criteria is listed below:
- 18 years of age or older
- fluency in the English language
- available and willing to complete study questionnaires in person or by phone
- has daily contact with the participant
- reports that he/she is knowledgeable of the participant's daily functioning
Sites / Locations
- Temple UniversityRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
No Intervention
Virtual Training Arm
Control Arm
This is a within-participant study with two arms. All participants receive the Virtual Training with one target task and they are tested (after one day and one month) on the target task (arm 1) and as well as on a control task(arm 2). Assignment to the specific task that is trained is randomized across participants.
This is a within-participant study with two arms. All participants receive the Virtual Training with one target task and they are tested (after one day and one month) on the target task (arm 1) and as well as on a control task(arm 2). Assignment to the specific task that is trained is randomized across participants.