The Use of a Virtual Reality Platform for the Assessment of the Memory Decline and the Hippocampal Neural Injury in Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Validity of Smart Aging Serious Game (SASG)

Abstract

Due to the lack of pharmacological treatment for dementia, timely detection of subjects at risk can be of seminal importance for preemptive rehabilitation interventions. The aim of the study was to determine the usability of the smart aging serious game (SASG), a virtual reality platform, in assessing the cognitive profile of an amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) population, its validity in discriminating aMCI from healthy controls (HC), and in detecting hippocampal degeneration, a biomarker of clinical progression towards dementia. Thirty-six aMCI and 107 HC subjects were recruited and administered the SASG together with a neuropsychological evaluation. All aMCI and 30 HC subjects performed also an MRI for hippocampal volume measurement. Results showed good usability of the SASG despite the low familiarity with technology in both groups. ROC curve analyses showed similar discriminating abilities for SASG and gold standard tests, and a greater discrimination ability compared to non-specific neuropsychological tests. Finally, linear regression analysis revealed that the SASG outperformed the Montreal cognitive assessment test (MoCA) in the ability to detect neuronal degeneration in the hippocampus on the right side. These data show that SASG is an ecological task, that can be considered a digital biomarker providing objective and clinically meaningful data about the cognitive profile of aMCI subjects.