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Sensorimotor Characterization of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Virtual Reaching and Catching Tasks
de Nobile A, Borghi I, De Pasquale P, Berger DJ, Maselli A, Lorenzo FD, Savastano E, Assogna M et al.. Research Square, 2026-08-27
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
BACKGROUND Early detection of cognitive decline is crucial, yet conventional cognitive assessments may fail to capture subtle motor impairments. This study examined whether upper-limb motor features extracted from immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) tasks can differentiate stages along the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continuum. Among motor behaviors, reaching and catching movements are particularly informative, as cognitive decline has been associated with generalized slowing of movement, reflecting deficits in visuomotor planning. METHODS Sixty-one older adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or healthy aging performed reaching and catching tasks in IVR environment. Upper-limb performance was quantified using success rate, reaction time, maximum speed, and kinematic features. RESULTS Upper-limb reaching and catching motor performance showed a graded declined across groups. Participants with AD exhibited reduced accuracy, slower reaction times, and reduced movement speed with respect to healthy controls, while those with MCI exhibited intermediate impairments. Group differences in the catching task were most pronounced when visual and gravitational cues were absent. Based on these kinematics features, LDA successfully discriminated between groups well above chance level. DISCUSSION Individuals with MCI and AD exhibit marked deficits in the performance and accuracy of upper-limb reaching and catching movements when assessed in a VR environment. IVR enables sensitive and ecologically valid detection of upper-limb motor alterations associated with cognitive decline, supporting its potential for early diagnosis and monitoring.
Key findings
- Among motor behaviors, reaching and catching movements are particularly informative, as cognitive decline has been associated with generalized slowing of movement, reflecting deficits in visuomotor planning.
- RESULTS Upper-limb reaching and catching motor performance showed a graded declined across groups.
- IVR enables sensitive and ecologically valid detection of upper-limb motor alterations associated with cognitive decline, supporting its potential for early diagnosis and monitoring.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (Research Square) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
de Nobile, A., Borghi, I., De Pasquale, P., Berger, D. J., Maselli, A., Lorenzo, F. D., et al. (2026). Sensorimotor Characterization of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Virtual Reaching and Catching Tasks. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-10509162/v1
Vancouver
de Nobile A, Borghi I, De Pasquale P, Berger DJ, Maselli A, Lorenzo FD, et al. Sensorimotor Characterization of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Virtual Reaching and Catching Tasks. Research Square. 2026. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-10509162/v1.
BibTeX
@article{denobile2026-b06ba9dd,
author = {de Nobile, A. and Borghi, I. and De Pasquale, P. and Berger, D. J. and Maselli, A. and Lorenzo, F. D. and Savastano, E. and Assogna, M. and others},
title = {{Sensorimotor Characterization of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Virtual Reaching and Catching Tasks}},
journal = {Research Square},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.21203/rs.3.rs-10509162/v1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-10509162/v1}
}
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