Mild cognitive impairment Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Conditions
Interventions
Patients with mild cognitive impairment will perform a spatial navigation task (and will be compared to matched controls) in virtual/augmented reality modified urban space environments
neuropsychological testing, eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) data will also be collected during the task to assess differences between groups.
Sponsors
University of Lisbon
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. This study will adopt the Petersen et al. (1999) criteria for the diagnosis of MCI (probably one of the original criteria defined) which include: 1.1. Presence of memory complaints (from patients or their families) 1.2. No or a minimal impairment in activities of daily living, determined by the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL) (Lawton & Brody, 1969) 1.3. Normal general cognitive function, determined by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1975) 1.4. An objective cognitive disorder as evidenced by a neuropsychological evaluation 1.5. Absence of dementia 2. Written informed consent 3. The diagnosis of MCI will also be made by an experienced neurologist, using all available clinical, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging information available from the diagnostic workup
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Neurological (stroke, brain tumour, significant head trauma, epilepsy) or psychiatric disorders that may cause cognitive impairment 2. Patients with major depression or serious depressive symptoms 3. History of alcohol abuse or recurrent substance abuse or dependence 4. Seriously reduced vision or other sensory deficits likely to interfere with the evaluation 5. Medication use with possible cognitive side effects 6. Presence of a systemic illness with significant cerebral impact (uncontrolled hypertension, metabolic, endocrine, toxic, and infectious diseases)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Percentage of errors in finding the correct routes of the navigation paradigm measured using a comparative method between the shortest path and the one actually performed at baseline | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. The distance between the estimated (correct) and actual (incorrect) final location measured using Euclidean distance method at baseline 2. The time to finish the task and the time allocated to specific predefined landmarks measured using a comparative method of time difference at baseline. 3. Eye movements (total and search saccades and fixations) measured using the number of fixation and saccades at baseline 3. The difficulty of the task assessed using a qualitative score based on a post-performance interview 4. Brain activity pattern (topographically and on frequency analysis) measured using EEG analysis at baseline 5. Episodic memory measured using a neuropsychological battery at baseline. 6. Executive functioning measured using a neuropsychological battery at baseline. | — |
Countries
Portugal, United States of America
Outcome results
None listed