Virtual environments (VEs) can be modulated and adapted to the needs of each user, but in the case of patients, performance can be affected by several factors that are difficult to expertise. The objective of the study is to explore the relationship between workload and the interaction techniques used during selection in a virtual apartment. Fifty-six participants performed tasks in a VE with 2D or, more immersive, 3D interaction techniques. The VE used was the Virtual Multitasking Test (Banville et al., 2018 ) where participants realized several everyday tasks in a virtual apartment. Workload and variables describing how individuals felt in the VE were measured using questionnaires, and performance in VE has been assessed. Results showed that 2D selection techniques have a better usability than 3D ones. The performance (success in task realization) on the virtual tasks was not impacted by the interaction techniques. Our results suggest that the easier it is to use an interaction technique, the less workload is associated with it. Sense of presence and cybersickness were affected by 3D interaction techniques. Thus, future VEs for cognitive assessment and rehabilitation, based on instrumental activities of daily living, will have to adapt their interaction techniques to different users.

Sociocognitive difficulties are observed in many pathologies associated with brain lesions or atypical brain functioning. The development of virtual reality offers an opportunity to assess this dimension from an interactionist perspective and to increase the ecological validity of the material used. However, this approach can be operationalized and conceptualized in a variety of ways. To understand these aspects, we conducted a systematic review of articles found in the PubMed, PubMed Central, and ScienceDirect databases, following PRISMA-P guidelines. A corpus of 48 articles was identified and analyzed in terms of the experimental devices used, to gauge the extent to which they reproduced the characteristics of real-world social interactions, as well as the associated conceptions. Results suggested that interactionist research lies on a continuum between ecological validity (studies exploring interactions via general functions) and a high level of experimental control (exploration of interactions with respect to specific processes). They are discussed in terms of the operationalization and objectification of interactionism.

Everyday action impairment is one of the diagnostic criteria of Alzheimer's disease and is associated with many serious consequences, including loss of functional autonomy and independence. It has been shown that the (re)learning of everyday activities is possible in Alzheimer's disease by using error reduction teaching approaches in naturalistic clinical settings. The purpose of this study is to develop a dual-modal virtual reality platform for training in everyday cooking activities in Alzheimer's disease and to establish its value as a training tool for everyday activities in these patients. Two everyday tasks and two error reduction learning methods were implemented within a virtual kitchen. Two patients with Alzheimer's disease and two healthy elderly controls were tested. All subjects were trained in two learning sessions on two comparable cooking tasks. Within each group (i.e., patients and controls), the order of the training methods was counterbalanced. Repeated measure analysis before and after learning was performed. A questionnaire of presence and a verbal interview were used to obtain information about the subjective responses of the participants to the VR experience. The results in terms of errors, omissions, and perseverations (i.e., repetitive behaviors) indicate that the patients performed worse than the controls before learning, but that they reached a level of performance similar to that of the controls after a short learning session, regardless of the learning method employed. This finding provides preliminary support for the value of the dual-modal virtual reality platform for training in everyday cooking activities in Alzheimer's disease. However, further work is needed before it is ready for clinical application.