Unlocking Cognitive Potential: Exploring a Virtual Environment for Cognitive Training in Healthy Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment

This study aims to investigate how cognitive impairment and social presence influence goal attainment in an ecological virtual environment. It also examines the role of interactive features in improving computer-assisted cognitive training for older adults, both with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A virtual supermarket was used to simulate a realistic exploration task, incorporating social interactions and adaptive assistance strategies. Error analysis was conducted to identify performance patterns linked to cognitive profiles. Participants with MCI exhibited a significantly higher frequency of wandering and uncorrected orientation errors, compared to cognitively healthy older adults. While verbal support was beneficial in facilitating virtual task progress, it did not fully mitigate performance deficits in those with MCI. Additionally, all older participants, regardless of cognitive status, reported significantly lower perceptions of social presence compared to younger participants. Virtual environments constitute a promising tool for the assessment and enhancement of functional abilities in older adults with neurocognitive impairments. The integration of tailored cognitive training protocols and adaptive support strategies holds potential to optimize cognitive stimulation and task performance. • A computerized ecological task can demonstrate age-related neurocognitive decline. • Wandering and orientation errors characterize cognitive decline. • Older people with neurocognitive decline maintain a sens of social presence. • Virtual support is less effective for older individuals with cognitive disorders. • Tailored support for seniors must adapt verbal cues as part of virtual training.