The impact of virtual reality on the emotional state of patients with aphasia

Introduction: Aphasia, with the impairment of both verbal and non-verbal communication, and other symptoms of stroke causes emotional disorders. There is a range of conventional psychological interventions to improve that; however, they could have a limited value due to the loss of language. Aim; This study estimates subjective and objective alternations in the emotional state of patients with aphasia after a relaxing session in virtual reality (VR). Methods: In total, 40 patients during the first post-stroke year were randomized in the study and control group and successfully completed the sudy. The former underwent relaxation in VR for 20 minutes, whereas a conventional relaxation technique was used in the latter. Patients from both groups were tested with visual analogue scale (VAS) for their mood and electroencephalography (EEG) at the beginning, after a 5-minutes rest and after the intervention. Results: Demographic parameters and VAS score for mood were comparable in both groups, and the latter improved altogether (p