Aphasia is a highly disabling acquired language disorder generally caused by a left-lateralized brain damage. Even if traditional therapies have been shown to induce an adequate clinical improvement, a large percentage of patients are left with some degree of language impairments. Therefore, new approaches to common speech therapies are urgently needed in order to maximize the recovery from aphasia. The recent application of virtual reality (VR) to aphasia rehabilitation has already evidenced its usefulness in promoting a more pragmatically oriented treatment than conventional therapies (CT). In the present study, thirty-six chronic persons with aphasia (PWA) were randomly assigned to two groups. The VR group underwent conversational therapy during VR everyday life setting observation, while the control group was trained in a conventional setting without VR support. All patients were extensively tested through a neuropsychological battery which included not only measures for language skills and communication efficacy but also self-esteem and quality of life questionnairies. All patients were trained through a conversational approach by a speech therapist twice a week for six months (total 48 sessions). After the treatment, no significant differences among groups were found in the different measures. However, the amount of improvement in the different areas was distributed over far more cognitive and psychological aspects in the VR group than in the control group. Indeed, the within-group comparisons showed a significant enhancement in different language tasks (i.e., oral comprehension, repetition, and written language) only in the VR group. Significant gains, after the treatment, were also found, in the VR group, in different psychological dimensions (i.e., self-esteem and emotional and mood state). Given the importance of these aspects for aphasia recovery, we believe that our results add to previous evidence which points to the ecological validity and feasibility of VR treatment for language recovery and psychosocial well-being.

中文翻译：

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通过半身临其境的虚拟现实环境进行对话治疗，用于中风后失语症的语言恢复和心理健康。

失语症是一种高度致残的后天语言障碍，通常由左脑损伤引起。即使传统疗法已被证明可引起足够的临床改善，但仍有很大比例的患者存在一定程度的语言障碍。因此，迫切需要常见言语治疗的新方法，以最大限度地从失语症中恢复。最近虚拟现实 (VR) 在失语症康复中的应用已经证明了它在促进比传统疗法 (CT) 更加务实的治疗方面的有用性。在本研究中，36 名慢性失语症 (PWA) 患者被随机分配到两组。VR 组在 VR 日常生活场景观察中进行对话治疗，而对照组则在没有 VR 支持的传统环境中接受培训。所有患者都通过神经心理学电池进行了广泛测试，其中不仅包括语言技能和沟通效率的测量，还包括自尊和生活质量问卷。所有患者都接受了语言治疗师每周两次的对话式培训，为期六个月（共 48 次）。治疗后各组间各项指标均无显着差异。然而，与对照组相比，VR 组在不同领域的改善分布在更多的认知和心理方面。事实上，组内比较显示不同语言任务（即口语理解、重复、和书面语言）仅在 VR 组中。治疗后，VR 组在不同的心理维度（即自尊、情绪和情绪状态）也有显着的进步。鉴于这些方面对失语症恢复的重要性，我们相信我们的结果补充了先前的证据，这些证据表明 VR 治疗对语言恢复和社会心理健康的生态有效性和可行性。