Virtual Enactment Effect on Memory in Young and Aged Populations: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Spatial cognition is a critical aspect of episodic memory, as it provides the scaffold for events and enables successful retrieval. Virtual enactment (sensorimotor and cognitive interaction) by means of input devices within virtual environments provides an excellent opportunity to enhance encoding and to support memory retrieval with useful traces in the brain compared to passive observation. Methods: We conducted a systematic review with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines concerning the virtual enactment effect on spatial and episodic memory in young and aged populations. We aim at giving guidelines for virtual enactment studies, especially in the context of aging, where spatial and episodic memory decline. Results: Our findings reveal a positive effect on spatial and episodic memory in the young population and promising outcomes in aging. Several cognitive factors (e.g., executive function, decision-making, and visual components) mediate memory performances. Findings should be taken into account for future interventions in aging. Conclusions: The present review sheds light on the key role of the sensorimotor and cognitive systems for memory rehabilitation by means of a more ecological tool such as virtual reality and stresses the importance of the body for cognition, endorsing the view of an embodied mind.

Usability Issues of Clinical and Research Applications of Virtual Reality in Older People: A Systematic Review

“…The uses of VR systems in our review were mainly focused on motor rehabilitation. In healthcare, VR is mainly applied for the assessment and rehabilitation of sensorimotor, physical, and psychological deficits via non-immersive to immersive technologies (Lange et al, 2010;Bohil et al, 2011;García-Betances et al, 2015;Muratore et al, 2019;Tuena et al, 2019). We also encourage the use of pilot studies in other domains where VR is used for clinical purposes.…”

Egocentric and Allocentric Spatial Memory in Mild Cognitive Impairment with Real-World and Virtual Navigation Tasks: A Systematic Review

“…The procedure was the same for the Blue Velvet Arena (the real-world version; BVA) but this time participants walked in a 2.9 m dark arena with luminous goal locations and egocentric/allocentric cues. Other alternative tasks achieved promising diagnostic results with VR [29,55,66,[71][72][73][74], and with real-space versus virtual versions [75][76][77] or only real-world tasks [53, [78][79][80].…”

“…Moreover, VR is one of the preferred tools to study spatial memory since it allows the user to actively navigate within the virtual environments, enhancing spatial and episodic performances [74,81]. In fact, active navigation in virtual environments involves both bodily and cognitive activities [5]…”

P5 eHealth: An Agenda for the Health Technologies of the Future

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