Immersive virtual reality intervention to enhance cognitive-affective neuropsychological functions in post-COVID-19 condition (...), 2026, Pete et al

[Wyva]

Full title: Immersive virtual reality intervention to enhance cognitive-affective neuropsychological functions in post-COVID-19 condition: Research protocol and a case report

Kinga Nedda Pete, János Tamás Varga, Zsuzsanna Valachiné Geréb, Orsolya Gőbel, Cecília Sik-Lanyi, Veronika Müller, Renáta Cserjési

Highlights​

• Post-COVID cognitive impairment is a relatively new challenge with few established rehabilitation protocols.
• VR-based gamified cognitive training with breathing reduces mental fog and boosts motivation, adherence, and well-being
• The intervention caused no cybersickness and was received very positively by the user.
• Cognitive functions showed measurable improvement after just six sessions.
• This approach offers an effective, engaging, and innovative method for COVID-19 rehabilitation.

Abstract​

Objective​

Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) includes persistent cognitive, affective, and physical symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study proposes a 6-week virtual reality (VR)-based cognitive intervention to improve cognitive-affective functions in individuals with PCC and presents initial results through a case report.

Method​

A 46-year-old female with PCC completed a 6-week immersive VR-based cognitive intervention. Neuropsychological and psychological assessments occurred at baseline, after VR intervention (2-month follow-up), and at 5-month follow-up. The VR intervention included cognitive activities and diaphragmatic breathing exercises. Immersion, presence, cybersickness and other aspects of the VR experience were systematically evaluated.

Results​

The patient showed improvements in attention, executive functions, processing speed and performance in VR cognitive games. Reductions in perceived cognitive deficits and depression, along with enhanced functional status, resilience, self-esteem and emotional flexibility, were observed. However, anxiety and life satisfaction exhibited unexpected trends. The participant reported high satisfaction with the VR intervention and no notable cybersickness symptoms.

Conclusions​

This study contributes to the limited literature on VR interventions for PCC, showcasing its potential in neuropsychological rehabilitation and proposing a possible rehabilitation protocol.

Open access: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691826000168

 

[Utsikt]

Trait anxiety showed a similar trend but persisted at above average level. Interestingly, state anxiety slightly increased over time, despite remaining within the non-pathological range. The patient's satisfaction with life also showed an unexpected decrease throughout measurements and represented an extreme dissatisfaction with life.

These unexpected trends may relate to different specifics of PCC: to the fluctuating nature of PCC symptoms (Soriano et al., 2022), heightened bodily awareness during recovery and the intervention programme, or to mismatched expectations of own's recovery trajectory.

It is also plausible that improved cognitive clarity may influence self-awareness and disease-awareness and can reveal previously unnoticed difficulties and stressors, elevating worry and vigilance. These changes may also be explained by other psychosocial challenges.

It’s funny how all of the negative findings are explained away, and all of the positive findings are in line with what the literature tells us. It’s almost as if the authors are biased towards VR.

A further limitation is that some cognitive improvements may reflect learning effects due to repeated testing, however, the fact that similar improvements were observed in VR games that dynamically adjusted their level of difficulty based on performance suggests that not all changes can be attributed solely to practice effects.

Or the games just didn’t adjust their difficulty quickly enough, or had a difficulty ceiling.