93. The application effect of intelligent rehabilitation robots in the reconstruction of behavioral patterns in patients with anxiety disorder

Abstract Background Anxiety disorder, a common type of mental disorder, often manifests in patients under prolonged stress as avoidance behavior, hypervigilance, and decreased motor function. In recent years, intelligent rehabilitation robots have demonstrated potential advantages in the field of neurorehabilitation through their sensing, feedback, and motion guidance technologies. Existing research shows that motor behavior regulation can improve anxiety symptoms by activating the prefrontal-limbic system pathway; however, traditional interventions rely on manual guidance, resulting in poor consistency and insufficient compliance. Intelligent rehabilitation robots, combining behavioral monitoring, motion correction, and real-time feedback mechanisms, can help guide patients to gradually rebuild behavioral patterns in a safe environment. Therefore, this study established a motor behavior intervention experiment to verify the application effect of intelligent rehabilitation robots in the reconstruction of behavioral patterns in patients with anxiety disorder and to explore their potential to promote mood improvement. Methods The study included 80 patients who met the diagnostic criteria for moderate anxiety disorder and randomly assigned them to either a robotic rehabilitation group (n = 40) or a conventional rehabilitation group (n = 40). The robotic rehabilitation group received guided behavioral training using an intelligent rehabilitation robot, three times a week for 45 minutes each time, for 8 weeks. The conventional rehabilitation group received traditional behavioral training from therapists. Anxiety symptoms were measured using the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Changes in behavioral patterns were quantitatively assessed using the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS), the Behavioral Rhythm Index (BRI), and the Motion Stability Index (MSI). Paired-samples t-tests were used to analyze differences before and after the intervention. Results Eight weeks later, the BADS score in the robotic group increased from 33.8 ± 6.1 to 52.6 ± 7.4, while the score in the control group increased from 34.1 ± 5.9 to 45.1 ± 6.8, with a statistically significant difference in improvement between the two groups (p<.01). The BRI in the robotic group improved from 0.62 ± 0.11 to 0.81 ± 0.10, while the score in the control group increased from 0.63 ± 0.10 to 0.71 ± 0.12 (p<.05). The MSI in the robotic group increased from 72.4 ± 8.3 to 88.1 ± 7.9 (p<.01). Simultaneously, the robotic group also showed significant relief in anxiety symptoms, with the SAS score decreasing from 63.1 ± 6.8 to 45.8 ± 7.1 and the GAD-7 score decreasing from 14.1 ± 3.2 to 8.1 ± 2.9 (both p<.05). Discussion Studies have shown that intelligent rehabilitation robot intervention has a positive effect on behavioral correction and mood improvement in patients with anxiety disorders. Behavioral guidance combined with real-time feedback helps reduce avoidance behaviors and increase participation in physical activity. This method improves patient compliance and the efficiency of behavioral rehabilitation, suggesting that intelligent intervention has scalability in the field of mental health support. Future research could combine simultaneous EEG monitoring and emotion recognition models to optimize robot feedback strategies and explore personalized behavioral reconstruction pathways for different anxiety types. Furthermore, expanding the sample size and extending the follow-up period could analyze the effects of sustained intervention and relapse prevention.