Episodic Memory Assessment and Remediation in Normal and Pathological Aging Using Virtual Reality: A Mini Review
Abstract
Life expectancy is constantly increasing in developed countries. Unfortunately, a longer
life does not always correspond to a healthier life, as even normal aging is associated
with cognitive decline and increased risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases.
Episodic memory (EM) is one of the most vulnerable cognitive functions in aging,
and its decline is the hallmark of typical Alzheimer’s disease. This memory system
is defined as the ability to acquire and recollect personally experienced episodes
associated with a specific affective, spatial, and temporal context. However, most of the
neuropsychological and experimental tasks currently employed to assess EM consist
in learning simple material (e.g., list of words) in highly stereotyped contexts. In the
same vein, classical paper-and-pencil or numeric remediation tools have shown their
limitations in the transfer of acquired skills to daily life. Virtual reality (VR), thanks to its
immersive properties, and the possibility of delivering realistic and complex scenarios,
seems a promising tool to address the limitations of the assessment and remediation of
EM. Here, we review existing studies employing VR in normal and pathological aging
to assess and reeducate EM. Overall, we show that VR has been mainly used via
non-immersive systems. Further studies should, therefore, test the impact of different
degrees of immersion. Moreover, there is a lack of VR remediation tools specifically
targeting EM. We propose that future studies should fill this gap, addressing in particular
the adaptivity of VR remediation protocols.
Origin : Publisher files allowed on an open archive
Licence : CC BY - Attribution
Licence : CC BY - Attribution