Eight weeks of VR and SFV enhanced cognitive and cognitive-motor performance, with VR providing domain-specific advantages in executive function, but SFV sustaining more improvements in real-world-relevant cognitive-motor tasks.
Both VR and video-based stick-fight training improved Stroop reading performance over 8 weeks.
Both groups improved Stroop inhibition performance, indicating gains in cognitive inhibition regardless of training modality.
Both groups improved Letter Cancellation Test (LCT) performance, reflecting gains in selective attention and processing speed.
VR training produced greater improvements in Trail Making Test (TMT) performance compared to stick-fight video training.
Both groups showed substantial improvements in cognitive-motor performance on the Trail Walking Test (TWT).
Both groups improved on the Fitts task (difficulty level 3), with VR showing greater gains.
VR-related advantages in executive function were not uniformly persistent, while SFV sustained more improvements in real-world-relevant cognitive-motor tasks.
The study design matched VR and stick-fight video conditions on movement patterns, frequency, intensity, and duration to isolate the effect of immersiveness.
This research suggests that both virtual reality (VR) exergaming and watching and following along with a non-immersive stick-fight video can improve thinking and movement skills in healthy young adults after 8 weeks of twice-weekly 30-minute sessions. Both approaches led to measurable gains in reading speed, the ability to suppress automatic responses (cognitive inhibition), attention, and combined thinking-and-movement tasks. The study was carefully designed so that both groups did the same types of movements for the same amount of time, meaning any differences between the groups could be attributed to the immersive VR experience itself rather than just the exercise. Where VR showed an edge was in executive function — specifically, the ability to flexibly switch between tasks (measured by the Trail Making Test) and a targeting motor task at a specific difficulty level. However, these VR advantages were not consistent across all follow-up measurements, suggesting the benefits may not always last. Interestingly, the non-immersive stick-fight video group maintained more improvements in tasks that resemble everyday real-world movement challenges, raising questions about which format is actually better for long-term practical benefit. This research suggests that immersive VR exercise is not necessarily superior across the board to simpler, cheaper video-based exercise programs. While VR may offer unique short-term boosts in certain executive functions, non-immersive video training can be comparably effective — and possibly more durable — for real-world cognitive-motor skills. These findings are relevant for designing exercise interventions and rehabilitation programs, particularly for settings where VR technology may be costly or inaccessible.
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Upload Your LabsHerden M, Grosprêtre S, Eon P, Bischoff L, Wollesen B. (2026). Game changer? Cognitive-motor effects of VR exergaming compared to video-based training.. Annals of medicine. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2026.2713245