In phase five we have finalized almost all activities and sub-activities of the project with more than 300 subjects involved in experiments, more than 120 of them being elderly. Based on our data three posters were presented at the BaCI conference in Istanbul (Basic Clinical and Multimodal Imaging (BaCI) and we have published the first article on how personality moderates variability of EEG microstate and spontaneous thoughts. A complex multimodal image, based on fMRI, EEG, biochemical and behavioral measures contributes by bringing fundamental knowledge important for assessing the opportunity and efficiency of the use of VR (virtual reality) in the palliative treatment of Alzheimer’s disease patients.
While stimulation of autobiographical memory in VR proves more efficient in terms of duration and memorability than other forms of stimulation, our data indicate that VR stimulation failed to maintain peripheral levels of oxytocin, suggesting less efficient social stimulation. Also, our combined memory performance tests, fMRI, and EEG data indicate that spatial navigation and social interaction in virtual tasks emerge as dependent on collaboration with a real partner or virtual one. The effects of social interaction on memory also seem moderated by personality and age indicating a need for specially designed tasks for the elderly. In the next phase, we will complete experiments including with subjects affected by cognitive decline and focus on making our data available to the scientific community through publications.