Effect of Distractors on Sustained Attention and Hyperactivity in Youth With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Using a Mobile Virtual Reality School Program

Abstract

Objective: This study examined whether distractors in virtual reality (VR) environment affected the attention and hyperactivity in children and adolescents with ADHD. Method: A total of 40 students (21 ADHD, 19 controls) aged between 9 and 17 years participated in this study. A rapid visual information processing task utilizing VR (VR-RVP) was performed under two conditions (no-distractor and distractor condition). Task performance and head movement during each condition were compared, and additional analyses were conducted after grouping participants into two developmental stages. Results: Children with ADHD performed comparably to the controls under the distractor condition, but had poorer performance under the no-distractor condition. They displayed more head movement under the distractor condition than in the no-distractor condition. Conclusion: VR is possibly a useful tool for investigating the effect of distractors on individuals with ADHD, and children with ADHD are more vulnerable to a low-level stimulation situation than normal children in VR.

Exploratory study on the use of HMD virtual reality to investigate individual differences in visual processing styles

“…(2021) concluded that VR interventions in children and adolescents with ADHD show mixed results, where sustained attention and attentional vigilance are improved; however, impulsivity responses showed no changes. Despite emerging promising work on VR use to understand ADHD (Hong et al. , 2021; Romero-Ayuso et al.…”

Evaluating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children and adolescents through tracked head movements in a virtual reality classroom: The effect of social cues with different sensory modalities

“…In this study, we utilized a head-mounted display (HMD) to automatically track and record real-time body movements of participants in the virtual world. Several studies have used head movement to represent hyperactivity in individuals with ADHD ( Hong et al, 2021 ). Previous research has shown that head movement toward target stimuli is an especially important indicator of attentional orientation, suggesting that further research on this is warranted ( Teicher et al, 1996 ; Lavine et al, 2002 ; Seyama, 2006 ; Frischen et al, 2007 ).…”

“…Thus, it provides the participant with a more ecologically valid environment for assessment compared to the conventional CPT conducted in a quiet, isolated room. In addition, these environments and stimuli can be easily manipulated and fully controlled by the experimenter, allowing assessment of the impact of each stimulus on patients’ behavior ( Hong et al, 2021 ).…”

The effect of feedback in virtual attention training on orienting attention in individuals with sluggish cognitive tempo

“…Studies that have clearly proven effective in attention training are still insufficient, but several studies have shown that it may be effective when feedback is used in attention training. A study conducted by Hong (2022) to perform tasks on children with ADHD in a virtual reality environment suggested that an appropriate amount of stimulation indicates a higher level of performance when given additional and continuous stimulation. It is explained that children who easily feel bored and wander due to weak attention were able to maintain interest in the task when they were given continuous and additional stimulation (Hong, 2022) In attention training, immediate feedback can serve as a continuous and additional stimulus.…”

“…A study conducted by Hong (2022) to perform tasks on children with ADHD in a virtual reality environment suggested that an appropriate amount of stimulation indicates a higher level of performance when given additional and continuous stimulation. It is explained that children who easily feel bored and wander due to weak attention were able to maintain interest in the task when they were given continuous and additional stimulation (Hong, 2022) In attention training, immediate feedback can serve as a continuous and additional stimulus. In addition, numerous literature explains that feedback helps self-regulate and control attention and enhance awareness-of-attention because it provides self-regulation and learning functions for a wide range of human behaviors (Botvinick et al, 2001; Makino et al, 2002).…”