Anticipatory reaching motor behavior characterizes patients within the Alzheimer’s disease continuum in a virtual reality environment

Anticipatory reaching motor behavior characterizes patients within the Alzheimer’s disease continuum in a virtual reality environment | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Anticipatory reaching motor behavior characterizes patients within the Alzheimer’s disease continuum in a virtual reality environment Alessia de Nobile, Ilaria Borghi, Paolo De Pasquale, Denise Jennifer Berger, and 11 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5615872/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy → Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract INTRODUCTION Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) involves progressive declines in cognitive and motor functions, impairing daily activities. This study explored reaching actions in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients to identify motor deficits and their link to cognitive decline. METHODS Kinematic data was recorded, assessing task success rate and frequency of anticipatory responses, focusing on the latter as a potential marker of AD. RESULTS Both AD and MCI patients showed more anticipatory responses than healthy controls (HC), inversely related to success rates and cognitive function. AD patients had lower success rates and increased anticipatory responses, often skewed toward previous trial targets. MCI patients showed an intermediate pattern, with more anticipatory responses than HC but similar success rates. DISCUSSION These results suggest goal-directed reaching impairments in AD, highlighting the importance of combining cognitive and sensorimotor assessments for early detection and potential VR-based motor rehabilitation in the AD continuum. Virtual Reality cognitive deficits Alzheimer kinematic analysis sensorimotor impairments reaching task anticipatory behavior Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 20 Jan, 2025 Reviews received at journal 04 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Dec, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Dec, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 12 Dec, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Dec, 2024 First submitted to journal 10 Dec, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5615872","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":404449447,"identity":"95f226b3-2acc-41c7-8b1b-1ff7ef80962d","order_by":0,"name":"Alessia de Nobile","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Roma Tre University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alessia","middleName":"","lastName":"de Nobile","suffix":""},{"id":404449448,"identity":"27445509-c0cf-4679-b34f-2971a6dd0346","order_by":1,"name":"Ilaria Borghi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"IRCSS Fondazione Santa 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