Clinical Trial: Virtual Reality in Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional




Official Title: Motor Learning From Virtual to Natural Environments in Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Brief Summary: With the growing accessibility of computer-assisted technology, one option for rehabilitation programs for individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the use of virtual reality environments to enhance motor practice. Thus, it is important to examine whether performance improvements in the virtual environment generalize to the natural environment. To examine this issue, we had 64 individuals, 32 of which were individuals with DMD and 32 were typically developing individuals. The groups practiced two coincidence timing tasks. In the more tangible button-press task, the individuals were required to 'intercept' a falling virtual object at the moment it reached the interception point by pressing a key on the computer. In the more abstract task, they were instructed to 'intercept' the virtual object by making a hand movement in a virtual environment using a webcam.