Efficacy of a social robot-assisted training for socio-cognitive and cognitive functions in Parkinson’s disease: A comparison with an active control group

This study evaluated the efficacy of 12-week of Socially Assistive Robot (SAR) training program on socio-cognitive and cognitive functions in 11 individuals with early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 9 healthy older adults. Both groups underwent the same intervention with the Pepper robot. Pre- and post-assessments were analyzed using mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVAs. Results showed high adherence (90 %) and a significant main effect of Time on several outcomes, including global cognition, executive functions, and Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks (all p < .05), suggesting that both groups demonstrated significant improvements. These findings also suggest that a SAR-based intervention is feasible and effective. The main result of the study was the improvement in the skills trained during the intervention, observed in both groups. This pattern also indicate that SAR-based interventions may be beneficial not only for individuals with early-stage PD but also for healthy older adults, highlighting the potential preventive value of SAR-based training in supporting healthy cognitive and social aging.