An Intervention on Anxiety Symptoms in Moderate Alzheimer's Disease through Virtual Reality: A Feasibility Study and Lessons Learned

Abstract

(1) Background: Although cognitive impairment is considered the core deficit of dementia, anxiety disorders also have a negative influence on the social and daily life of the affected population. We have explored the exposure of relaxing scenarios in immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) as an intervention strategy for people with moderate Alzheimer's disease. (2) Methods: Three participants were recruited from a day center to participate in a five-week study, which included a Pre- and Post-evaluation with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the anxiety subdomain of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Participants' heart rate, oxygen saturation, arterial pressure, and respiratory rate were also monitored during intervention sessions. Three virtual scenarios from Nature Treks VR were used as the intervention over three weeks (a total of nine sessions). (3) Results: Post-intervention anxiety assessment showed a light reduction in psychological anxiety in the HARS questionnaire. A light reduction in heart rate was also observed during the exposure to iVR. (4) Discussion: The use of virtual scenarios was a satisfactory experience for all the participants. Preliminary data point to a relaxing effect of iVR scenarios and a potential reduction in psychological anxiety, but further research is required to confirm the efficacy of the intervention.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; anxiety; dementia; non-pharmacological intervention; virtual reality.

Figure 1

Participants watching the virtual scenes during the intervention.

Figure 2

Heart rate values (Mean ± SEM) at different time points before, during, and following iVR exposure to relaxing scenarios.