Motomura K, Amimoto K, Numao T, Kaneko F. Effects of a Stimulus Response Task Using Virtual Reality on Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2024;
105:1449-1457. [PMID:
38750715 DOI:
10.1016/j.apmr.2024.05.009]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of a stimulus response task using virtual reality (VR) for unilateral spatial neglect (USN).
DESIGN
Double-blind randomized controlled trial.
SETTING
Acute phase hospital where stroke patients are hospitalized.
PARTICIPANTS
The participants were 42 patients (N=42) with right-hemisphere cerebral damage who had been experiencing USN in their daily lives. They were randomly assigned to 3 groups: a stimulus response task with a background shift (SR+BS group), a stimulus response task without a background shift (SR group), and an object gazing task (control group).
INTERVENTIONS
The stimulus response task was to search for balloons that suddenly appeared on the VR screen. A background shift was added to highlight the search in the neglected space. The control task was to maintain a controlled gaze on a balloon that appeared on the VR screen. The intervention period was 5 days.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The primary outcome was the participants' scores on a stimulus-driven attention test (SAT) using the reaction time. The stimuli of the SAT were divided into 6 blocks of 3 lines on each side (-3 to +3). The secondary outcomes were their scores on the Behavioral Intention Test conventional, Catherine Bergego Scale, and straight ahead pointing tests.
RESULTS
In the SAT, there were significant interaction effects of reaction time between time and group factors in left-2, right+2, and right+3. The SR+BS and SR groups showed significant improvements in the reaction time of left-2 and right+3 compared with the control group. Moreover, the SR+BS group showed a significant improvement in the reaction time of left-2, which was the neglected space, compared with the SR group. However, there were no significant interaction effects of Behavioral Intention Test conventional, Catherine Bergego Scale, and straight ahead pointing.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the use of stimulus response tasks using VR combined with background shifts may improve left-sided USN.
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