Virtual Reality Gamification of Visual Search, Response Inhibition, and Visual Short-Term Memory Tasks for Cognitive Assessment: Experimental Study.

Background: Cognitive tasks are foundational tools in psychology and neuroscience for studying attention, perception, and memory. However, they typically employ simple or artificial stimuli and require numerous repetitive trials, which can adversely affect participant engagement and ecological validity. Objective: This study investigated whether gamified versions of 3 established cognitive tasks, namely, the Visual Search task (attention), the Whack-the-Mole task (response inhibition), and the Corsi block-tapping test (visual short-term memory), replicate the typical patterns of results reported for their traditional counterparts. It also examined whether the method of administration-in immersive virtual reality (VR) versus desktop computer, and in the laboratory versus at home-influences performance. Methods: Seventy-five participants (male=24, female=51; age range 18-35 years; mean 23.15, SD 4.38 years) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 administration conditions (n=25 each). In the VR-Lab condition, participants completed the tasks in immersive VR within the laboratory; in the Desktop-Lab condition, they completed the tasks on a 2D desktop screen in the laboratory; and in the Desktop-Remote condition, participants completed the tasks on their personal computers at home. All participants completed the same gamified tasks while seated, entering responses with either a mouse or a VR controller, depending on the condition. Results: The results obtained from these gamified tasks across all 3 administration conditions replicated the typical performance patterns observed with their traditional counterparts, despite using more ecologically valid stimuli and fewer trials. However, administration modality did influence certain performance measures, particularly reaction times (RTs) and task efficiency. Specifically, in the Visual Search task, RTs were significantly faster in the VR-Lab condition (mean 1.24 seconds) than in the Desktop-Lab (mean 1.49 seconds; P<.001) and Desktop-Remote (mean 1.44 seconds; P=.008) conditions. In the Whack-the-Mole task, no significant group differences emerged in d' scores (VR-Lab: mean 3.79, Desktop-Remote: mean 3.75, Desktop-Lab: mean 3.62; P=.49), but RTs were slower in the Desktop-Remote condition (mean 0.64 seconds) than in the VR-Lab (mean 0.41 seconds; P<.001) and Desktop-Lab (mean 0.48 seconds; P<.001) conditions. For the Corsi block-tapping test, no significant group differences in span scores were found (VR-Lab: mean 5.48, Desktop-Lab: mean 5.68, and Desktop-Remote: mean 5.24; P=.24). Finally, a significant positive correlation was observed between RTs for Hits in the Whack-the-Mole task and feature search trials in the Visual Search task (r=0.24; P=.04). Conclusions: Gamified cognitive tasks administered in VR replicated established behavioral patterns observed with their traditional versions while improving ecological validity and reducing task duration. Administration modality had limited effects on overall outcomes, although RTs were slower in remote settings. These findings support the feasibility of using gamified VR tasks for scalable and ecologically valid cognitive assessment. Overall, the study underscores the potential of VR to increase participant engagement and enrich cognitive research through more immersive and motivating testing environments.