Surviving COVID-19: The Neuroscience of Smart Working and Distance Learning

The persistence of the coronavirus-caused respiratory disease (COVID-19) and the related restrictions to mobility and social interactions are forcing a significant portion of students and workers to reorganize their daily activities to accommodate the needs of distance learning and agile work (smart working). What is the impact of these changes on the bosses/teachers' and workers/students' experience? This article uses recent neuroscience research findings to explore how distance learning and smart working impact the following three pillars that reflect the organization of our brain and are at the core of school and office experiences: (a) the learning/work happens in a dedicated physical place; (b) the learning/work is carried out under the supervision of a boss/professor; and (c) the learning/work is distributed between team members/classmates. For each pillar, we discuss its link with the specific cognitive processes involved and the impact that technology has on their functioning. In particular, the use of videoconferencing affects the functioning of Global Positioning System neurons (neurons that code our navigation behavior), mirror neurons, self-attention networks, spindle cells, and interbrain neural oscillations. These effects have a significant impact on many identity and cognitive processes, including social and professional identity, leadership, intuition, mentoring, and creativity. In conclusion, just moving typical office and learning processes inside a videoconferencing platform, as happened in many contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic, can in the long term erode corporate cultures and school communities. In this view, an effective use of technology requires us to reimagine how work and teaching are done virtually, in creative and bold new ways.

Virtual Reality Air Travel Training Using Apple iPhone X and Google Cardboard: A Feasibility Report with Autistic Adolescents and Adults

Rapid rises in autism diagnoses are increasing the demand for effective services and straining service providers. When individuals on the autism spectrum turn 18, they are faced with even greater barriers to services, since many services are delivered in school settings. Thus, there is a need for more accessible tools that teach daily life and communication skills to autistic adolescents and young adults. The current project reports findings from a pilot study using virtual reality (VR) to teach air travel skills to autistic young adults. The authors repurposed a virtual airport environment previously used to treat fear of flying for this study. Seven participants on the autism spectrum viewed a 5-minute virtual airport simulation with an overlaid narrative script using an iPhone X^® and Google Cardboard^® device once per week for 3 weeks. Researchers collected measures of attentiveness, language function, activity comprehension, and clinical observations on how participants interacted with the technology. Analyses revealed improvements in attentiveness, certain language functions such as labeling vocabulary, and activity comprehension in most participants. Clinical observations revealed acceptability of this technology and its capability to serve as an appealing media to deliver interventions. Thus, it is feasible to apply mobile VR trainings with autistic adolescents and young adults. We discuss ways to improve the pedagogical approach of VR-enhanced interventions in light of these findings. In the future, we plan to develop and test more virtual environments that address the needs of young adults on the autism spectrum, such as interview training and independent living skills.

Lay summary

Why was this virtual reality air travel training program developed?: Each year, more and more people travel via airplane. Long lines, unexpected changes and other stressors can make air travel overwhelming and difficult, particularly for autistic people. Our goal was to develop and pilot test a program to help autistic adults learn air travel skills without needing to physically enter an airport.What does the virtual reality air travel training program do?: Our virtual reality air travel training (VR-ATT) program presents a virtual simulation of the steps that travelers go through in an airport. It guides users through entering, checking in, navigating security, waiting at the departure gate, and boarding. VR-ATT also contains a narrative to guide users by highlighting important information such as: "Look, there's the ticket counter. Let's check in with the attendant." This script was based on social stories, which are often used to help individuals on the autism spectrum learn communication and social interaction strategies. Seven autistic adolescents and adults participated in our program. They watched the VR-ATT simulation on an iPhone X^® and Google Cardboard^® two to three times over the course of 3 weeks. Google Cardboard is an inexpensive virtual reality (VR) headset.How did the researchers evaluate the VR-ATT program?: We evaluated the program in three ways. First, we asked each participant to retell the sequence of events of the simulation. In other research studies, participants who retold what they watched showed a greater ability to apply the skill to the real world. Second, we tracked how and what types of language participants used. Third, we measured if participants could independently view the VR-ATT simulation without side effects such as dizziness or cybersickness (common side effects of VR viewing). This helps us understand the feasibility and acceptability of using VR with autistic individuals.What were the early findings?: Early findings suggest that autistic individuals are accepting of the iPhone and Google Cardboard VR viewing method. They also provide preliminary support for the ability of the program to promote improvements in functional language skills such as labeling vocabulary, which helps individuals interact and navigate busy environments, such as an airport. Finally, the findings suggest that participants can accurately retell the sequence of events in the virtual simulation.What were the weaknesses of this project?: One weakness was that researchers could not test how participants transferred the skills they learned in the virtual training to a real-world airport. Another weakness is the small sample of participants. Finally, not every participant completed all three training sessions, making it difficult to draw precise conclusions about the program's acceptability and success.What are the next steps?: Future studies should include a larger number of participants, a real-world test, changes to the virtual simulation to encourage more language use and interaction with virtual characters, and use more accurate measurement materials.How will this work help autistic adults now or in the future?: This air travel program may someday help autistic people learn what to expect and how to communicate in a busy airport setting. This program also highlights that new technology, such as VR, could potentially improve access to services and help more people in need in the future.

Positive Technology and COVID-19

The past 10 years have seen the development and maturation of several digital technologies that can have a critical role to enhancement of happiness and psychological well-being. In particular, the past decade has seen the emergence of a new paradigm: "Positive Technology," the scientific and applied approach to the use of technology for improving the quality of our personal experience. In this article we discussed the potential of Positive Technology to augment and enhance the existing strategies for generating psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular different positive technologies-m-Health and smartphone apps, stand-alone and social virtual reality, video games, exergames, and social technologies-have the potential of enhancing different critical features of our personal experience-affective quality, engagement/actualization, and connectedness-that are challenged by the pandemic and its social and economic effects. In conclusion, although the focus of tackling the direct impact of COVID-19 is important, positive technologies can be extremely useful to reduce the psychological burden of the pandemic and to help individuals in flourishing even during difficult and complex times.

Individualized Visual Reality Training Improves Visual Acuity and Visual Field Defects in Patients with Glaucoma: A Preliminary Study Report

To explore whether individualized visual training improves the visual acuity and visual field defects of patients with glaucoma. Patients with established primary glaucoma who visited the glaucoma clinic of Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2018 to April 2018 were recruited. The binocular visual perception examination was performed by using the visual perception examination system, and a personalized training program was developed according to the relevant threshold conditions between the eyes of the patients. The binocular visual perception training session for 20 minutes for two sessions was completed at home by using a virtual reality helmet. The visual function, intraocular pressure, and Octopus visual field were examined, before and at the first month and the third month after training. Seven patients completed the study. None of the seven patients has fine stereopsis, four of them have large stereopsis, and two patients are without large stereopsis. The visual acuity at 3 months after training was significantly improved compared with that before training. The mean defect value after 1 month of training was significantly lower than that before training, and it was further decreased after 3 months. Similarly, the mean sensitivity value was significantly increased in both follow-ups after training. There was no significant difference in loss variance after 1 and 3 months of training when compared with that before training (p > 0.05). Our small prospective observational study indicated that individualized visual perception training can improve the visual function and improve the visual field in patients with glaucoma, and a large sample size study is warranted to further assess the value of this novel treatment.

COVID Feel Good-An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus

BACKGROUND

Living in the time of the COVID-19 means experiencing not only a global health emergency but also extreme psychological stress with potential emotional side effects such as sadness, grief, irritability, and mood swings. Crucially, lockdown and confinement measures isolate people who become the first and the only ones in charge of their own mental health: people are left alone facing a novel and potentially lethal situation, and, at the same time, they need to develop adaptive strategies to face it, at home. In this view, easy-to-use, inexpensive, and scientifically validated self-help solutions aiming to reduce the psychological burden of coronavirus are extremely necessary.

AIMS

This pragmatic trial aims to provide the evidence that a weekly self-help virtual reality (VR) protocol can help overcome the psychological burden of the Coronavirus by relieving anxiety, improving well-being, and reinforcing social connectedness. The protocol will be based on the "Secret Garden" 360 VR video online (www.covidfeelgood.com) which simulates a natural environment aiming to promote relaxation and self-reflection. Three hundred sixty-degree or spherical videos allow the user to control the viewing direction. In this way, the user can explore the content from any angle like a panorama and experience presence and immersion. The "Secret Garden" video is combined with daily exercises that are designed to be experienced with another person (not necessarily physically together), to facilitate a process of critical examination and eventual revision of core assumptions and beliefs related to personal identity, relationships, and goals.

METHODS

This is a multicentric, pragmatic pilot randomized controlled trial involving individuals who experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and underwent a lockdown and quarantine procedures. The trial is approved by the Ethics Committee of the Istituto Auxologico Italiano. Each research group in all the countries joining the pragmatic trial, aims at enrolling at least 30 individuals in the experimental group experiencing the self-help protocol, and 30 in the control group, over a period of 3 months to verify the feasibility of the intervention.

CONCLUSION

The goal of this protocol is for VR to become the "surgical mask" of mental health treatment. Although surgical masks do not provide the wearer with a reliable level of protection against the coronavirus compared with FFP2 or FFP3 masks, surgical masks are very effective in protecting others from the wearer's respiratory emissions. The goal of the VR protocol is the same: not necessarily to solve complex mental health problems but rather to improve well-being and preserve social connectedness through the beneficial social effects generated by positive emotions.