The Development of a Virtual Reality Program to Improve Attention in Individuals With TBI

The Development of a Virtual Reality Program to Improve Attention in Individuals With TBI

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of a technique designed to improve divided attention and set-shifting impairments in persons with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study is designed to evaluate how well this technique can help people with TBI increase their attention and ability to function better in everyday life.

A pilot study will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a technique designed to improve higher level attention (switching between tasks and multi-tasking) for persons with a traumatic brain injury. 32 individuals with TBI will be recruited. Baseline assessment includes neuropsychological evaluation using traditional measures as well as a completion of a number of questionnaires designed to measure everyday attention and everyday functioning. Participants are random assigned to either the experimental or control groups. Experimental and control treatments include two 60 minute sessions, twice per week, for 5 weeks. Follow-up assessment includes a neuropsychological evaluation using traditional measures as well as a completion of a number of questionnaires designed to measure everyday attention and everyday functioning. Protocol efficacy will be determined by improvements between baseline and follow-up on several objective and functional measures of divided attention and set-shifting.

Inclusion Criteria:

• between the ages of 18-65
• diagnosis of TBI
• can read and speak English fluently

Exclusion Criteria:

• prior stroke or neurological disease other than TBI
• unstable or uncontrolled seizures
• currently taking benzodiazepines