Issues for the Assessment of Visuospatial Skills in Older Adults Using Virtual Environment Technology

Virtual Environment (VE) technology offers clinical assessment and rehabilitation options that are currently not available using traditional neuropsychological methods. Advancements in this type of immersive information technology could produce tools that enhance the scientific study of human cognitive/functional processes and improve our capacity to more accurately assess and treat impairments found in persons with central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Through the creation of dynamic three-dimensional (3D) stimulus environments, in which all behavioral responding can be recorded, VE technology offers the possibility to more sensitively address a range of age-related CNS disorders including Alzheimer's Disease, Vascular Dementia, Parkinson's Disease, and stroke. Advances in this area could impact quality of life issues for an increasingly aging world population. The VE Laboratory at the University of Southern California has developed a suite of ImmersaDesk-format, 3D projection-based VEs. These scenar...

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