Learning and Long-Term Retention of a Complex Sensorimotor Task Within an Immersive Virtual Reality Environment in a Non-Injured Population

Task-specific training in immersive virtual reality environments (IVREs) can provide practice for skills that are transferred to real-world settings. The present study examined skill acquisition and retention of a non-injured population performing a complex, sensorimotor navigation task in the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN). Seventeen subjects participated twice weekly for 6 weeks, with follow-up visits at 3-month intervals for 1 year. Subjects performed a navigation task, where they drove a virtual boat through a scene using weight shifting and body movement. Subjects improved over time on all outcome measures. A significant effect was observed for visit number on total score, time to complete the task, number of buoys navigated successfully, and number of penalties incurred. Task-specific training in IVREs may be effective for operational skills training and rehabilitation of injured populations by employing tasks that lead to long-term retention.