Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
College/School
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department/Program
Psychology
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Ruth E. Propper
Committee Member
Kiran K. Karunakaran
Committee Member
Jennifer Pardo
Abstract
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of cognitive and motor dysfunctions that impair functional ambulation in young adults. Cognitive deficits include impairment in processing speed and executive functions and motor deficits include impairment in temporal and spatial gait characteristics balance control, and coordination. Evidence suggests that cognitive function is positively correlated to physical function and cognitive effort positively contributes to motor recovery. Therefore, improved recovery of ambulation may result from a rehabilitation program that enhances both cognitive and motor capabilities by focusing on both motor and cognitive domains simultaneously. This investigation aims to evaluate the effects of virtual reality-based cognitive integrated motor training (MCT) to improve ambulation in young adults. Data is shown for three individuals with TBI and two reference healthy controls (HC). Individuals with TBI received ten MCT sessions while HC received one training session. Gait and balance function, cognitive function, and biomechanical were evaluated to understand the effect of MCT. The results demonstrated that temporal & spatial characteristics, gait and balance function, processing speed, and executive function improved with MCT. These preliminary results imply that young adults with TBI may benefit from increased cognitive effort during motor training in order to maximize recovery of their gait and balance. Clinical Relevance – Preliminary data provides initial evidence for MCT as a therapeutic intervention for gait and balance rehabilitation in adults with TBI.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Bang, Sumin, "The Effects of Cognitive Integrated Virtual Reality Motor Training on Traumatic Brain Injury" (2024). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1423.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1423