Can VR Help Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease? A Curious Dive into an Emerging Therapeutic Possibility
As someone deeply engaged in neurorehabilitation, I've seen firsthand how virtual reality (VR) can support brain plasticity, spark motivation, and encourage functional recovery in conditions like stroke, traumatic brain injury, and vestibular disorders. These experiences often lead me to wonder, if VR can make such a difference in these areas, could it also offer something meaningful to individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)?
I recently came across a fascinating feasibility study by Carlomagno et al. (2025) that explored this very question, and I wanted to unpack it here, not as an expert in dementia care, but as someone genuinely curious about all the places VR might take us in healthcare.
The Study: Immersive Aesthetics for Emotional and Cognitive Stimulation
In this pilot study, researchers introduced VR experiences to seven older adults with either mild or moderate cognitive decline consistent with AD. The approach was refreshingly human-centered: participants watched 360-degree videos featuring familiar (e.g., Southern Italian beaches) and unfamiliar (e.g., Japanese parks, aurora borealis) environments, each paired with emotionally evocative music. The goal wasn’t just to “train cognition,” but to evoke feelings, memories, and a sense of presence in meaningful spaces (Carlomagno et al., 2025).
The results were promising. Most participants reported a strong sense of immersion. Many experienced mood improvements, and several recalled long-forgotten autobiographical memories—some from childhood, others more recent. These moments of recall weren’t just cognitive; they were emotional, sometimes even bittersweet. One participant, despite experiencing sadness, remembered joyful times playing with her children, a memory prompted by the Tokyo park video (Carlomagno et al., 2025).
Why This Matters: Neuroplasticity Beyond Rehabilitation?
We often talk about neuroplasticity in the context of recovery, getting someone back to function after an injury. But this study raises an intriguing point: could immersive, emotionally rich environments help preserve or even reinforce neural connections in progressive conditions like Alzheimer’s?
The answer, while not definitive, seems worth exploring. VR doesn’t have to replace other interventions, it can complement them. When paired with music, cultural familiarity, and a soothing environment, it may help patients not just “remember,” but feel remembered. That’s powerful.
From a feasibility standpoint, the intervention worked: participants tolerated the VR headset well, and the emotional benefits outweighed the minor discomforts (Carlomagno et al., 2025). Still, some design considerations were flagged, like headset weight and session length, valuable insights for anyone designing VR tools for older populations.
Expanding the Evidence: What Other Research Tells Us
Beyond this initial study, a growing body of research supports the potential benefits of VR in Alzheimer’s care.
A meta-analysis by Kim et al. (2019) found that VR interventions significantly improved memory, attention, executive function, and quality of life in individuals with MCI and early-stage AD. Similarly, Yang et al. (2025) concluded from 18 randomized controlled trials that VR had a small to moderate positive effect on cognitive domains including memory (SMD = 0.20) and attention (SMD = 0.25).
VR has also been used for reminiscence therapy, evoking autobiographical memories through immersive scenes (Appel et al., 2020). Manera et al. (2016) observed that even individuals with dementia could emotionally engage with virtual environments and retrieve meaningful past experiences.
VR’s applications go beyond cognition. Zhu et al. (2021) found that dual-task VR exercises helped improve gait and balance in older adults with MCI or dementia, promoting both physical and mental well-being.
Finally, EEG-based studies suggest that VR combined with music therapy can produce changes in brain activity associated with improved mood and attention in people with Alzheimer’s (Byrns et al., 2020).
Advancements in VR Technology: Enhanced Comfort and Accessibility
Since the release of the Oculus Quest 2, VR technology has made significant strides, particularly in enhancing comfort and usability for older adults.
Today’s headsets from, Quest 3/3s to HTC VIVE Focus Vision Pro and Pico 4 Ultra, are lighter, more ergonomically designed, and offer intuitive interfaces that are better suited for longer sessions and older users (Carlomagno et al., 2025). These improvements in design, visual clarity, and controller-free hand tracking have enhanced accessibility and broadened the potential for therapeutic use in eldercare settings.
A Physical Therapist’s Perspective: Could Familiar Landscapes Guide Functional Progress?
As a physical therapist, this kind of research also gets me thinking: what if we combined familiar VR environments with specific functional tasks?
Imagine placing a patient in a VR replica of their kitchen and guiding them through a simple meal prep sequence, or helping them "walk" through their home while practicing balance and object recognition. Could this approach support not only memory but also sequencing, motor planning, and functional independence?
Could it reawaken the cognitive reasoning needed for daily tasks, like brushing teeth, setting a table, or navigating a hallway?
The potential is immense. There’s so much we could build off of from this foundation. And knowing that the benefits are not just theoretical, but feasible and measurable, it only makes sense that we lean into this technology for our patients.
I love working with people and helping them improve. If we have any opportunity to support our patients even just a little more—emotionally, cognitively, or functionally—we need to take it.
What’s Next?
The authors of the initial study advocate for personalization, cultural tailoring, and long-term testing. Integrating familiar landscapes and culturally meaningful music could deepen the therapeutic experience (Carlomagno et al., 2025). Larger trials could help clarify who benefits most and how best to deliver these experiences, whether in clinical settings or even at home.
We’re just beginning to scratch the surface. But studies like these point to a hopeful possibility, that even in the face of neurodegeneration, there are still moments worth creating, remembering, and feeling.
References:
Appel, L., Appel, E., Bogler, O., Wiseman, M., Cohen, L., Ein, N., Abrams, H. B., & Campos, J. L. (2020). Older adults with cognitive and/or physical impairments can benefit from immersive virtual reality experiences: A feasibility study. Frontiers in Medicine, 6, 329. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2019.00329
Byrns, A., Abdessalem, H., Cuesta, M., Bruneau, M., Belleville, S., & Frasson, C. (2020). EEG analysis of the contribution of music therapy and virtual reality to the improvement of cognition in Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering, 13(8), 187–201. https://doi.org/10.4236/jbise.2020.138018
Carlomagno, F., Bevilacqua, V., Brunetti, A., Sibilano, E., Delussi, M., Lippolis, M., Diomede, R., & Brattico, E. (2025). Feasibility study on the use of virtual reality with evocative and aesthetic content for AD patients. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202502.2095.v1
Kim, O., Pang, Y., & Kim, J. H. (2019). The effectiveness of virtual reality for people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: A meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 19, 219. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2180-x
Manera, V., Chapoulie, E., Bourgeois, J., Guerchouche, R., David, R., & Ondrej, J. (2016). A feasibility study with image-based rendered virtual reality in patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0151487. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151487
Yang, Q., Zhang, L., Chang, F., Yang, H., Chen, B., & Liu, Z. (2025). Virtual reality interventions for older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27(1), e59195. https://doi.org/10.2196/59195
Zhu, S., Sui, Y., Shen, Y., Zhu, Y., Ali, N., Guo, C., & Yang, J. (2021). Effects of virtual reality intervention on cognition and motor function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 13, 586999. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.586999
