Validity evaluation of a spatial memory task in virtual environments

A broad range of neuropsychological tests and trainings are used to assess cognitive function during rehabilitation after brain injury. However, given the everyday problems that patients struggle with, questions of ecological validity arise. For example, abstract tasks have little meaning to patients and decrease motivation to practice skills frequently. This study proposes a spatial memory task with high ecological validity that can be integrated into any virtual environment. Environments and target objects can be individually designed for each user to provide a relevant context and high motivation for patients with cognitive deficits. The task has been evaluated with both brain-injured and healthy individuals. 45 participants completed the virtual task and a battery of neuropsychological tests. Strong associations have been found with established tests of visual short-term memory. Due to high variability of test scores, no significant relationship with tests of spatial abilities has been established. High ecological validity of the spatial memory task caused five patients to show awareness