Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Stroke can lead to changes in thinking and memory, which can in turn affect mobility, independence, and quality of life. For these reasons, it is important to establish effective interventions to improve thinking and memory after stroke. Virtual reality (VR) therapy is a form of technology that allows for real-time simulation of an activity or environment, and can be tailored to the user's abilities or interests. VR has been used successfully in individuals with stroke to improve balance abilities and indeed, participants have reported that VR therapy is more satisfactory and enjoyable than standard therapy. VR therapy can improve thinking and memory in people with Parkinson's disease, but whether these benefits translate to the stroke population has not been studied extensively. The purpose of this study was to summarize the literature surrounding the effectiveness of VR therapy on thinking and memory in individuals with stroke. Eight studies were identified, summarized and described. These studies varied in terms of type of VR therapy used (combination of VR therapy with standard therapy, combination of VR therapy and computer-based thinking and memory training, or VR therapy alone), length of sessions (20-180 minutes), duration of the studies (4-8 weeks), and tests used to assess thinking and memory. We were able to combine results of 4 of the 8 studies to examine the overall effect of VR therapy on thinking and memory. We found that there were no differences in thinking and memory after VR therapy compared to regular therapy in people living with stroke. As new technologies continue to develop, more research is needed to establish the best way that VR can be incorporated into rehabilitation to enhance thinking and memory after stroke.