Dementia therapy uses VR to reactivate memoriesBy Fang Chih-hsien and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Kaohsiung Medical University Neuroscience Research Center on Monday introduced a new dementia therapy that uses virtual reality (VR) to recreate patients’ living experiences and reactivate long-term memories, to help lower their aggression levels. In Taiwan, one in 12 people aged 65 or older suffers from dementia, the center said, adding that effective treatment requires pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies. A man on Monday last week demonstrates a dementia therapy that uses virtual reality created by the Kaohsiung Medical University Neuroscience Research Center. Explaining the new therapy, center director Yang Yuan-han (楊淵韓) said that many old men enjoy talking about their military experiences. For them, revisiting the past through immersion in VR environments has therapeutic effects, stabilizes their mood and reduces dementia-related aggression, Yang added.

Source: Taipei Times September 26, 2020 15:56 UTC