Neuropsychological Rehabilitation 3.0: State of the Science

Abstract

Neuropsychological rehabilitation represents a multidisciplinary approach to address the range of cognitive, emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral factors that impact care. Traditionally, rehabilitation sciences have employed behavioral observation and ratings of human performance in the real world or via physical mock-ups of functional environments. Activities of daily living within mock-up environments (i.e., kitchens and bathrooms) and workspaces (i.e., offices and factory settings) are typically built, within which persons with motor and/or neurocognitive impairments are observed, while their performance is evaluated. Aside from the economic costs to physically build these environments and to provide human resources to conduct such evaluations, this approach is limited in the systematic control of real-world stimulus challenges and in its capacity to provide detailed performance data capture. Virtual environments are presented as a potential alternative to these physical mock-ups. Furthermore, studies using virtual reality for rehabilitation are reviewed and the potential for advanced technology is discussed. While limitations of current applications are discussed, future developments in virtual environment paradigms could allow clinicians to better meet changing patient care needs and goals based on the course of recovery. Furthermore, integration of patient-specific training prompts and cues may improve patient self-monitoring, guide problem solving, and promote less reliance on rehabilitation staff and caregivers. The core challenges of bringing technology into a multidisciplinary rehabilitation milieu centers are discussed.

It seems highly likely that virtual reality assessments and treatment approaches will become the norm in neuropsychology and rehabilitation within the next decade.

—Wilson (2013)