Authors:
Cristina Díez Bort
1
;
2
;
Razeen Hussain
1
;
Valeria Manera
3
;
Manuela Chessa
1
and
Fabio Solari
1
Affiliations:
1
DIBRIS, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
;
2
School of Aerospace Engineering and Industrial Design, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
;
3
CoBTeK Laboratory, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
Keyword(s):
Apathy, Serious Games, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Human Computer Interaction.
Abstract:
With increasing life expectancy, the prevalence of age-related disorders such as dementia, often preceded by mild cognitive impairment (MCI), has risen significantly. Among the early signs of cognitive decline, social apathy stands out as a key indicator, associated with an increased risk of progression to dementia. In this context, we present ApathySEED, a serious game developed to assess social apathy in individuals with MCI. The game uses decision-making in social scenarios to evaluate apathy across initiative, interest, and emotion subdomains. A pilot study involving 33 healthy participants was conducted to validate the game’s usability and effectiveness as a tool for assessing social apathy. Standardized questionnaires, including SUS, NASA-TLX, and AMI, were used to measure game performance, cognitive load, and apathy levels. Results suggest that ApathySEED is a promising tool for apathy assessment, with low cognitive load and high usability, making it suitable for future clinic
al utilization.
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