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Detecting Everyday Action Deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease Using a Nonimmersive Virtual Reality Kitchen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2014

Philippe Allain ,
Déborah Alexandra Foloppe ,
Jérémy Besnard ,
Takehiko Yamaguchi ,
Frédérique Etcharry-Bouyx ,
Didier Le Gall ,
Pierre Nolin  and
Paul Richard
Philippe Allain*
Affiliation:
LUNAM Université, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de Loire (UPRES EA 4638), Université d’Angers, France Unité de Neuropsychologie, Département de Neurologie, CHU Angers, France
Déborah Alexandra Foloppe
Affiliation:
LUNAM Université, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de Loire (UPRES EA 4638), Université d’Angers, France LUNAM Université, Laboratoire Angevin de Recherche en Ingénierie des Systèmes (UPRES EA 7315), Université d’Angers, France
Jérémy Besnard
Affiliation:
LUNAM Université, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de Loire (UPRES EA 4638), Université d’Angers, France
Takehiko Yamaguchi
Affiliation:
Department of applied electronics, Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
Frédérique Etcharry-Bouyx
Affiliation:
LUNAM Université, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de Loire (UPRES EA 4638), Université d’Angers, France Unité de Neuropsychologie, Département de Neurologie, CHU Angers, France
Didier Le Gall
Affiliation:
LUNAM Université, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de Loire (UPRES EA 4638), Université d’Angers, France Unité de Neuropsychologie, Département de Neurologie, CHU Angers, France
Pierre Nolin
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Réalité Virtuelle, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
Paul Richard
Affiliation:
LUNAM Université, Laboratoire Angevin de Recherche en Ingénierie des Systèmes (UPRES EA 7315), Université d’Angers, France
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Philippe Allain, Unité de Neuropsychologie, Département de Neurologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, 4 rue Larrey, 49033 Angers, Cedex 09, France. E-mail: phallain@chu-angers.fr
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Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) causes impairments affecting instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Transdisciplinary research in neuropsychology and virtual reality has fostered the development of ecologically valid virtual tools for the assessment of IADL, using simulations of real life activities. Few studies have examined the benefits of this approach in AD patients. Our aim was to examine the utility of a non-immersive virtual coffee task (NI-VCT) for assessment of IADL in these patients. We focus on the assessment results obtained from a group of 24 AD patients on a task designed to assess their ability to prepare a virtual cup of coffee, using a virtual coffee machine. We compared performance on the virtual task to an identical daily living task involving the actual preparation of a cup of coffee, as well as to global cognitive, executive, and caregiver-reported IADL functioning. Relative to 32 comparable, healthy elderly (HE) controls, AD patients performed worse than HE controls on all tasks. Correlation analyses revealed that NI-VCT measures were related to all other neuropsychological measures. Moreover, regression analyses demonstrated that performance on the NI-VCT predicted actual task performance and caregiver-reported IADL functioning. Our results provide initial support for the utility of our virtual kitchen for assessment of IADL in AD patients. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)

Keywords

Alzheimer’s diseaseVirtual realityActionActivities of daily living (ADL)Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)Neuropsychological assessment

Information

Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , May 2014 , pp. 468 - 477
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2014 

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