Cognitive stimulation using non-immersive virtual reality tasks in children with learning disabilities

Executive functions comprise a set of higher-order mental processes that are crucial for cognition, emotion and behavior regulation. This study aimed to explore the benefits of a cognitive stimulation program using virtual reality (VR) for improving executive functioning in children identified with learning disabilities. The design of this study consisted of a pilot randomized controlled trial. This study was approved by an ethics committee. Nineteen children were randomly distributed by the experimental group consisting in non-immersive VR cognitive stimulation with tasks and the control group without intervention. A battery to assess executive functions in children was used for assessing the outcomes. The results suggest improvements in most domains of executive functions from pre- to post-intervention. A positive effect was also observed in the response to a questionnaire for parents about behavioral aspects of their children. These improvements were found only in the experimental group, which suggests a positive role of intervention in this population. Despite being a pilot study, these results highlight the positive role nonimmersive VR on executive functions of cognitive interventions has.