Virtual Reality Cognitive Assessment in Aphasia

For both clinicians and researchers, it is important to assess cognitive function after stroke. Yet stroke-related impairments, such as aphasia, often prevent completion of standard pencil-and-paper cognitive assessment tasks.

Aims

To develop a sequence of cognitive tasks, presented using non-immersive virtual reality, that is valid and feasible to administer to the majority of stroke survivors.

Design: Development

Current status: Recruitment is complete, manuscript in preparation.

Site/s: Several hospital sites in Brisbane, Queensland

We plan to build several virtual reality tasks and test them in stroke survivors (both aphasic and non-aphasic) and controls. The tasks will be kept as straightforward as possible, with written or verbal instructions kept to an absolute minimum. Performance on the tasks will be validated against standard neuropsychological measures of cognition

Key references:

Wall KJ, Isaacs ML, Copland DA, Cumming TB (2015). Assessing cognition after stroke. Who misses out? A systematic review. International Journal of Stroke, 10, 665-671.

Pendlebury ST, Chen PJ, Bull L, Silver L, Mehta Z, Rothwell PM. Methodological factors in determining rates of dementia in transient ischemic attack and stroke: (i) impact of baseline selection bias. Stroke. 2015;46:641-646.