studi e ricerche

Executive functions in elite athletes – Comparing open-skill and closed-skill sports and considering the role of athletes’ past involvement in both sport categories

Previous research documented differences in executive functions between elite athletes in different sports. It was argued that athletes in sport disciplines with higher cognitive demands (i.e., open-skill) show better executive functions than athletes in less cognitively challenging sport disciplines (i.e., closed-skill). In the current study, we aimed at detecting differences in executive functions between elite athletes in open-skill versus closed-skill sports and questioned the role of their total involvement in these sports until the age of 18 on executive functions. Seventy-five elite athletes (45 males and 30 females; Mage = 23.03 ± 4.41 years) from various sports were classified as open- or closed-skill athletes based

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20 Luglio 2021

Impact of Virtual Reality (VR) Experience on Older Adults’ Well-Being

Aging often leads to decreased social engagement.While technology has the potential to improve the quality of life among older adults, not much is known about effects of new technologies, including virtual reality (VR) appli- cations, on their well-being. This paper reports on a field study conducted with older adults in assisted living communities to understand how use of a VR system may contribute to their emotional and social well-being. During the study, a two-week intervention was done with an experimental group that used a VR system to view contents related to travel and relaxation, and a control group that used

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22 Giugno 2021

The Use of Virtual and Augmented Reality by Older Adults: Potentials and Challenges

The use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) promises many benefits for older adults, such as promoting a healthy lifestyle with health-related gaming, maintaining social contact via digital interfaces, supporting rehabilitation, and aiding in everyday life tasks (Czaja et al., 2019; Schlomann et al., 2019; Appel et al., 2020; Dermody et al., 2020). AR allows users to interact in new ways with their real environment, whereas VR provides them with new experiences in virtual environments. Although VR/AR user experiences may enhance well-being among older adults (e.g., Montana et al., 2020; Tuena et al., 2020), this group is largely neglected in current VR/AR participatory

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30 Aprile 2021

The use of virtual reality in the treatment of autism

Introduction The characteristics of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder involve deficits in social communication and repetitive patterns of behavior and that there is a growing interest in the use of new technologies for neurorehabilitation. Objectives This research aimed to verify the possibility of using Virtual reality for the treatment of Autism. Methods Scientific publications were selected from the PUBMED, ScieLO, LILACS and Google Scholar databases, written in Portuguese and English, with free access, between 2014 and 2019. Results A total of 19 publications were identified. Concerning their design, 26,3% of them were experimental, 21,1% qualitative, 21,1% one-group pretest-posttest, 15,8% quasi-experimental, 10,5%

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11 Aprile 2021

How older adults respond to the use of Virtual Reality for enrichment: a systematic review

Virtual Reality (VR) has been increasingly used for enrichment in later life. This review aims to investigate what is currently known about this topic. Following the PRISMA guidelines, fifteen articles were included for in-depth review. The review indicates that this topic is being explored by researchers in multiple disciplines. The VR systems in the studies reviewed ranged from fully immersive to less immersive systems. For most study participants, emotions were positively changed after experiencing VR. Participants enjoyed travel-based applications, social interaction, and reminiscing about things in new and interesting ways with the blending of multisensory experiences. VR experiences were improved

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6 Dicembre 2020

Neuro-Empowerment of Executive Functions in the Workplace: The Reason Why

The successful achievement of pre-established working goals and the ability to respond appropriately to workplace demands depends both on efficient and flexible cognitive and social functioning. Previous research has proposed that executive functions (EFs) play an essential role in work performance, with successful professionals displaying better social, cognitive, and executive functioning (Bailey, 2007; Willoughby and Blair, 2016). Therefore, the demand of assessment procedures and empowerment protocols dedicated to the EFs is growing rapidly. EFs are considered a family of top-down mental processes including inhibition (self-control and interference control), working memory, and cognitive flexibility (Miyake et al., 2000; Diamond, 2013). They are high-level cognitive functions

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31 Luglio 2020

Scope of Virtual Reality to Autism Intervention

With increased computing power, modern-day gadgets come with built-in rich graphics that can employ Virtual Reality (VR) to project realistic scenarios to the user. There had been a wide array of VR-based applications ranging from entertainment to intervention, education, rehabilitation, healthcare, etc. Specifically, VR-based applications are no more limited only in the area of expensive toys. Its applicability has transitioned to design of academic modules for education, serious games targeted towards intervention, game engines that can offer varying degrees of challenge to individuals with motor disorders, etc. Since the focus of this book is related to different aspects of autism,

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19 Luglio 2020

Effectiveness of Cognitive Training for School-Aged Children and Adolescents With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review

Problems with executive functions (EF) are hallmark characteristics of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Therefore, this review analyzed the efficacy of cognitive training for EF in reducing ADHD symptomatology and improving educational, interpersonal, and occupational outcomes in children and adolescents with this disorder. A systematic search, using a PICO (population/participant, intervention/indicator, comparator/control, outcome) framework was carried out. From 2008 to 2018, resorting to EBSCOhost, the following databases were searched: Academic Search Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE with Full Text, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Twenty-two studies were included in this review. Of the 18 studies that reported performance-based measures of

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14 Gennaio 2020

Simulare per RI_Connettere. VR per i disturbi dello spettro autistico

I disturbi ASD sono sindromi neuro comportamentali complessi; viaggiare, stare in posti affollati, fare una visita medica, approcciare un coetaneo, andare all’Università, sono solo alcuni esempi che possono generare condizioni di ansia e che, spesso, dis_connettono il soggetto dalla vita reale. L’o-biettivo della ricerca è quello di sperimentare l’utilizzo di tecnologie innovative per favorire gli scambi relazionali e funzionali tra persone con autismo e persone neuro tipiche, per favorire l’autonomia individuale delle persone con autismo, nella gestione del quotidiano e nella comunicazione sociale, soprattutto nell’età evolutiva e adulta. Nell’ambito di un progetto di ricerca è in corso di sperimenta-zione la

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12 Gennaio 2020

Effects of virtual reality-based cognitive training in older adults living without and with mild dementia: a pretest–posttest design pilot study

Objective Modern technologies are increasingly used in the development of cognitive interventions for older adults. Research into possible applications of virtual reality in such interventions has begun only recently. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of 8 sessions of VR-based cognitive training using the GRADYS game in healthy older adults (n = 72; aged 60–88) and older adults living with mild dementia (n = 27; aged 60–89). Results Older adults with mild dementia demonstrated worse baseline cognitive performance than participants without dementia. Both groups showed progress in training, which was greater in healthy older adults. There were also significant differences

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27 Novembre 2019

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