Abstract
Brain injury causes a variety of cognitive impairments which vary according to the severity
and mechanism of injury. Commonly reported impairments concern attention and memory
functions. A thorough and accurate assessment of cognitive deficits is essential for the
planning and implementation of rehabilitation. The most widely used measures of cognitive
assessment tend to be paper and pencil type tests that are carried out in a clinical setting.
These have been criticised however as lacking in ecological validity. In the past 15 to 20
years, assessments have been developed which aim to address this concern, namely; The
Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test and The Test of Everyday Attention. Research is
beginning to address the issue of the use of virtual reality (VR) in rehabilitation after brain
injury but little consideration has been given to the use of VR in the assessment of cognitive
functioning after brain injury. This may prove to be a superior form of assessment which
relates more directly to individual functioning in real life situations. The present study
therefore concerns the use of a virtual reality computer programme, as a means of assessing
memory and attention functioning. 43 brain injured individuals were assessed using the VR
assessment, standard clinical tests of memory and attention and the two newer assessments
which are considered to be more ecologically valid. Relatives/carers completed checklists
about the observed memory failures ofthe individuals taking part in the study, as a measure of
everyday memory problems. A correlational design is used to analyse the relationships
between the different assessments. Further analysis concerns the extent to which the VR
assessment involves memory and attentional processing. The potential of the VR task as an
ecologically valid assessment of cognitive functioning is discussed.
