ANTaging: a Research Protocol for Active Navigation Training with Virtual Reality in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Navigation is a multimodal process that requires the active computation of cognitive and bodily cues along with external environmental information. Indeed, according to the embodied cognition framework, the body and the environment build our cognitive representation of the space. This view is supported by findings in the aging population where the decline of bodily information accounts for the deficits in spatial navigation. Consequently, it is crucial to develop innovative rehabilitation solutions in aging that require the active use of bodily and cognitive processing of the space and its elements. Mild cognitive impairment is a geriatric syndrome considered to be a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. Consequently, it is a preferred time window to administer cognitive rehabilitation programs that could slow down cognitive deterioration. In the current paper, the ANTaging protocol will be presented in its three-step studies: pilot testing, usability study, and proof-of-concept trial.