Panagiotis Kourtesis

Panagiotis Kourtesis
American College of Greece · Department of Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy
VR and XR Cognitive Neuropsychology and Neuroscience. Cognitive/Behavioural/Motor Performance and Perception in VR/XR.

About

118
Publications
36,069
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
1,025
Citations
Introduction
Dr. Panagiotis Kourtesis, an Assistant Professor at the American College of Greece, bridges the fields of Virtual & Extended Reality (VR/XR), Human-Computer Interaction, and Psychology. With a PhD in Experimental Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience, he boasts clinical and research expertise in Greece, France, and the UK. His focus lies in immersive technologies, ergonomics, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology, dedicated to fostering advancements through research and education.
Additional affiliations
July 2022 - present
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Position
  • Adjunct Lecturer & Researcher
Description
  • Researcher, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Neuroscience, Research Software & Virtual Reality Developer.
October 2020 - October 2022
National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control
Position
  • PostDoc Position
October 2022 - present
University of Edinburgh
Position
  • Visitor Academic
Description
  • Responsibilities: Supervision of postgraduate students, especially for projects pertaining to the implementation of immersive technologies (VR/AR/XR) in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Set up and curation of the virtual reality lab. Conducting research (experimental design, data analysis, data visualization) and dissemination of the outcomes to scientific societies (conferences and journals) and the general public (demonstrations and social events).
Education
November 2016 - June 2020
University of Edinburgh
Field of study
  • Cognitive Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology
September 2014 - September 2016
University of Edinburgh
Field of study
  • Human Cognitive Neuropsychology
September 2006 - September 2010
State University of New York
Field of study
  • Psychology

Publications

Publications (118)
Article
Full-text available
Poor social skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are associated with reduced independence in daily life. Current interventions for improving the social skills of individuals with ASD fail to represent the complexity of real-life social settings and situations. Virtual reality (VR) may facilitate social skills training in social environments and...
Article
Full-text available
Given the widespread popularity of videogames, research attempted to assess their effects on cognitive and affective abilities, especially in children and adolescents. Despite numerous correlational studies, robust evidence on the causal relationship between videogames and cognition remains scarce, hindered by the absence of a comprehensive assessm...
Article
Full-text available
The cognitive and affective impacts of video games are subjects of ongoing debate, with recent research recognizing their potential benefits. This study employs the Gaming Skill Questionnaire (GSQ) to evaluate participants’ gaming skills across six genres and overall proficiency. A total of 88 individuals aged 20–40 participated, completing assessm...
Article
Full-text available
Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly used in neuropsychological assessments due to its ability to simulate real-world environments. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the Trail Making Test in VR (TMT-VR) and investigate the effects of different interaction modes and gaming skills on cognitive performance. A total of 71 young female and male a...
Article
Full-text available
This scoping review examines the broad applications, risks, and ethical challenges associated with Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), within the context of Metaverse. XR is revolutionizing fields such as immersive learning in education, medical and professional trainin...
Article
Full-text available
Cybersickness remains a significant challenge for virtual reality (VR) applications, particularly in highly immersive environments. This study examined the effects of immersion, task performance, and individual differences on cybersickness symptoms across multiple stages of VR exposure. Forty-seven participants aged 18–45 completed a within-subject...
Preprint
Full-text available
Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, offer groundbreaking opportunities for cognitive assessment and training. These immersive environments hold the potential to significantly enhance the ecological validity of cognitive tasks while providing real-time biometric data through multimodal systems such...
Preprint
Full-text available
This scoping review examines the broad applications, risks, and ethical challenges associated with Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), within the context of Metaverse. XR is revolutionizing fields such as immersive learning in education, medical and professional trainin...
Preprint
Full-text available
Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly used in neuropsychological assessments due to its ability to simulate real-world environments. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the Trail Making Test in VR (TMT-VR) and investigate the effects of different interaction modes and gaming skills on cognitive performance. A total of 71 young female...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Virtual Reality (VR) is transforming neuropsychological assessment by providing immersive environments that closely replicate real-world conditions. This study presents the Virtual Reality Trail Making Test (TMT-VR), a novel adaptation of the traditional Trail Making Test, aimed at evaluating cognitive functions in individuals with Atte...
Preprint
Full-text available
This scoping review explores the intersection of Extended Mind Theory and Extended Reality (XR) technologies, focusing on how Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality reshape human cognition and interaction. XR enables users to offload cognitive tasks and engage in embodied experiences, extending cognition beyond the brain into digital...
Preprint
Full-text available
This scoping review explores the intersection of Extended Mind Theory and Extended Reality (XR) technologies, focusing on how Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality reshape human cognition and interaction. XR enables users to offload cognitive tasks and engage in embodied experiences, extending cognition beyond the brain into digital...
Preprint
Full-text available
The cognitive and affective impacts of video games are subjects of ongoing debate, with recent research recognizing their potential benefits. This study employs the Gaming Skill Questionnaire (GSQ) to evaluate participants' gaming skills across six genres and overall proficiency. Eighty-eight individuals aged 20-40 participated, completed assessmen...
Preprint
Full-text available
The cognitive and affective impacts of video games are subjects of ongoing debate, with recent research recognizing their potential benefits. This study employs the Gaming Skill Questionnaire (GSQ) to evaluate participants' gaming skills across six genres and overall proficiency. Eighty-eight individuals aged 20-40 participated, completed assessmen...
Preprint
Full-text available
Videogames have been the focus of research since their widespread popularity, with particular emphasis on their effects on cognitive and affective abilities, especially in children and adolescents. Despite numerous correlational studies, robust evidence on the causal relationship between videogames and cognition remains scarce, hindered by the abse...
Preprint
Full-text available
Videogames have been the focus of research since their widespread popularity, with particular emphasis on their effects on cognitive and affective abilities, especially in children and adolescents. Despite numerous correlational studies, robust evidence on the causal relationship between videogames and cognition remains scarce, hindered by the abse...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Given that VR is used in multiple domains, understanding the effects of cybersickness on human cognition and motor skills and the factors contributing to cybersickness is becoming increasingly important. This study aimed to explore the predictors of cybersickness and its interplay with cognitive and motor skills. Methods: 30 participant...
Data
The "Gaming Skills Questionnaire (GSQ)" assesses a player's frequency and skill level across various video game genres. The questionnaire covers genres such as Sports Games, First-Person Shooter Games, Role-Playing Games, Action-Adventure Games, Strategy Games, and Puzzle Solving Games. Each genre section includes questions about the frequency of p...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Given that VR is used in multiple domains, understanding the effects of cybersickness on human cognition and motor skills and the factors contributing to cybersickness is becoming increasingly important. This study aimed to explore the predictors of cybersickness and its interplay with cognitive and motor skills. Methods: 30 participant...
Preprint
Full-text available
p> Background : Given that VR is applied in multiple domains, understanding the effects of cybersickness on human cognition and motor skills and the factors contributing to cybersickness gains urgency. This study aimed to explore the predictors of cybersickness and its interplay with cognitive and motor skills. Methods : 30 participants, 20-45 year...
Preprint
Full-text available
p> Background : Given that VR is applied in multiple domains, understanding the effects of cybersickness on human cognition and motor skills and the factors contributing to cybersickness gains urgency. This study aimed to explore the predictors of cybersickness and its interplay with cognitive and motor skills. Methods : 30 participants, 20-45 year...
Preprint
Background: Given that VR is applied in multiple domains, understanding the effects of cyber-sickness on human cognition and motor skills and the factors contributing to cybersickness gains urgency. This study aimed to explore the predictors of cybersickness and its interplay with cognitive and motor skills. Methods: 30 participants, 20-45 years ol...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Given that VR is applied in multiple domains, understanding the effects of cybersickness on human cognition and motor skills and the factors contributing to cybersickness gains urgency. This study aimed to explore the predictors of cybersickness and its interplay with cognitive and motor skills. Methods: 30 participants, 20-45 years old...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Poor social skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are associated with reduced independence in daily life. Current interventions for improving the social skills of individuals with ASD fail to represent the complexity of real-life social settings and situations. Virtual reality (VR) may facilitate social skills training in social environments a...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Poor social skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are associated with reduced independence in daily life. Current interventions for improving the social skills of individuals with ASD fail to represent the complexity of real-life social settings and situations. Virtual reality (VR) may facilitate social skills training in social environments a...
Preprint
Full-text available
Poor social skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are associated with reduced independence in daily life. Current interventions for improving the social skills of individuals with ASD fail to represent the complexity of real-life social settings and situations. Virtual reality (VR) may facilitate social skills training in social environments and...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Recent research has attempted to identify methods to mitigate cybersickness and examine its aftereffects. In this direction, this paper examines the effects of cybersickness on cognitive, motor, and reading performance in VR. Also, this paper evaluates the mitigating effects of music on cybersickness, as well as the role of gender, and the comput...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Recent research has attempted to identify methods to mitigate cybersickness and examine its aftereffects. In this direction, this paper examines the effects of cybersickness on cognitive, motor, and reading performance in VR. Also, this paper evaluates the mitigating effects of music on cybersickness, as well as the role of gender, and the comput...
Preprint
Full-text available
Recent research has attempted to identify methods to mitigate cybersickness and examine its aftereffects. In this direction, this paper examines the effects of cybersickness on cognitive, motor, and reading performance in VR. Also, this paper evaluates the mitigating effects of music on cybersickness, as well as the role of gender, and the computin...
Preprint
Recent research has attempted to identify methods to mitigate cybersickness and examine its aftereffects. In this direction, this paper examines the effects of cybersickness on cognitive, motor, and reading performance in VR. Also, this paper evaluates the mitigating effects of music on cybersickness, as well as the role of gender, and the computin...
Article
Recent research has attempted to identify methods to mitigate cybersickness and examine its aftereffects. In this direction, this paper examines the effects of cybersickness on cognitive, motor, and reading performance in VR. Also, this paper evaluates the mitigating effects of music on cybersickness, as well as the role of gender, and the computin...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been overwhelmingly applied to motor regions to date and our understanding of frontotemporal metabolic signatures is relatively limited. The association between metabolic alterations and cognitive performance in also poorly characterised. Material and met...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Cybersickness is a drawback of virtual reality (VR), which also affects the cognitive and motor skills of the users. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), and its variant, the Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire (VRSQ) are two tools that measure cybersickness. However, both tools suffer from important limitations, which raises concerns a...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Cybersickness is a drawback of virtual reality (VR), which also affects the cognitive and motor skills of the users. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), and its variant, the Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire (VRSQ) are two tools that measure cybersickness. However, both tools suffer from important limitations, which raises concerns a...
Article
Electrotactile feedback is a convenient tactile rendering method thanks to reduced form factor and power consumption. Yet, its usage in immersive virtual reality has been scarcely addressed. This paper explores how electrotactile feedback could be used to enhance contact information for mid-air interactions in virtual reality. We propose an electro...
Data
The CyberSickness in VR Questionnaire (CSQ-VR) is designed in line with the questionnaires' design guidelines for obtaining reliable responses (i.e., using a 7-point scale and combining text with numbers). The CSQ-VR assesses the whole range of cybersickness symptoms, including nausea, disorientation, and oculomotor. There are two questions for eac...
Article
Full-text available
Cybersickness is a drawback of virtual reality (VR), which also affects the cognitive and motor skills of users. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and its variant, the Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire (VRSQ), are two tools that measure cybersickness. However, both tools suffer from important limitations which raise concerns about the...
Preprint
Full-text available
Cybersickness is a drawback of virtual reality (VR), which also affects the cognitive and motor skills of the users. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), and its variant, the Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire (VRSQ) are two tools that measure cybersickness. However, both tools suffer from important limitations, which raises concerns abo...
Preprint
Cybersickness is a drawback of virtual reality (VR), which also affects the cognitive and motor skills of the users. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), and its variant, the Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire (VRSQ) are two tools that measure cybersickness. However, both tools suffer from important limitations, which raises concerns abo...
Preprint
Full-text available
Poor social skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are associated with reduced independence in daily life. Current interventions for improving the social skills of individuals with ASD fail to represent the complexity of real-life social settings and situations. Virtual reality (VR) may facilitate social skills training in social environments and...
Data
The CyberSickness in VR Questionnaire (CSQ-VR) is designed in line with the questionnaires' design guidelines for obtaining reliable responses (i.e., using a 7-point scale and combining text with numbers). The CSQ-VR assesses the whole range of cybersickness symptoms, including nausea, disorientation, and oculomotor. There are two questions for eac...
Data
The VRNQ measures the quality of user experience, game mechanics, and in-game assistance, as well as the intensity of VRISE. The VRNQ involves 20 questions, where each question corresponds to one of the criteria for appropriate VR research/clinical software (e.g., the level of immersion). The 20 questions are grouped under four domains, where each...
Conference Paper
The use of electrotactile feedback in Virtual Reality (VR) has shown promising results for providing tactile information and sensations. While progress has been made to provide custom electrotactile feedback for specific interaction tasks, it remains unclear which modulations and rendering algorithms are preferred in rich interaction scenarios. In...
Article
While user's perception and performance are predominantly examined independently in virtual reality, the Action-Specific Perception (ASP) theory postulates that the performance of an individual on a task modulates this individual's spatial and time perception pertinent to the task's components and procedures. This paper examines the association bet...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>While user's perception and performance are predominantly examined independently in virtual reality, the Action-Specific Perception (ASP) theory postulates that the performance of an individual on a task modulates this individual's spatial and time perception pertinent to the task's components and procedures. This paper examines the association b...
Preprint
p>While user's perception and performance are predominantly examined independently in virtual reality, the Action-Specific Perception (ASP) theory postulates that the performance of an individual on a task modulates this individual's spatial and time perception pertinent to the task's components and procedures. This paper examines the association b...
Article
Background: In contrast to myotonic dystrophy type 1, the cognitive and radiologic profile of myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) is relatively poorly characterized. Objective: To conduct a pilot study to systematically evaluate cognitive and radiologic features in a cohort of Greek individuals with DM2. Method: Eleven genetically confirmed indivi...
Preprint
Full-text available
While user's perception & performance are predominantly examined independently in virtual reality, the Action-Specific Perception (ASP) theory postulates that the performance of an individual on a task modulates this individual's spatial & time perception pertinent to the task's components & procedures. This paper examines the association between p...
Article
Haptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remain unresolved issues, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable du...
Preprint
Since the emergence of contemporary virtual reality (VR) devices, extended reality (XR) technologies have been implemented efficiently for various purposes, from understanding human cognition, emotion, and behavior, to treating and rehabilitating individuals. XR technologies such as VR, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) have thus gradu...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Electrotactile feedback has been proven effective in improving mid-air interactions in Virtual Reality (VR) scenarios. However, the elicited sensation is often described as unnatural. We explore standard stimulation patterns or effects (FXs) found in the literature and how they can get coupled with common VR interactions. We propose 6 implementatio...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Haptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remain unresolved issues, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable...
Preprint
Haptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remain unresolved issues, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable du...
Preprint
Full-text available
In this PhD, a technological systematic literature review of the reasons for adverse symptomatology was conducted and suggestions and technological knowledge for the implementation of virtual reality HMD systems in cognitive neuroscience provided. Another aim of this PhD was to devise a brief tool to appraise and report both the quality of software...
Preprint
Background: Digital technologies are creating unprecedented opportunities to improve and increase support to older people with cognitive and mental health problems, and to their family and carers. However, barriers that preclude the implementation of technology driven programs for the assessment and intervention of adults at risk of cognitive decli...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Digital technologies are creating unprecedented opportunities to improve and increase support to older people with cognitive and mental health problems, and to their family and carers. However, barriers that preclude the implementation of technology driven programs for the assessment and intervention of adults at risk of cognitive decli...
Article
Objective: Dysfunction of social cognition is well-recognized as one of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cognitive impairments. Previous studies have mostly associated social cognition subcomponents, including Theory of Mind (ToM), with executive dysfunction using highly-demanding tasks. In the present study, we investigate dysfunction of affect...
Article
Full-text available
Studies on prospective memory (PM) predominantly assess either event- or time-based PM by implementing non-ecological laboratory-based tasks. The results deriving from these paradigms have provided findings that are discrepant with ecologically valid research paradigms that converge on the complexity and cognitive demands of everyday tasks. The Vir...
Preprint
Full-text available
Clinical tools involving immersive virtual reality (VR) may bring several advantages to cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. However, there are some technical and methodological pitfalls. The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) raised 8 key issues pertaining to Computerized Ne...
Article
Full-text available
Clinical tools involving immersive virtual reality (VR) may bring several advantages to cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. However, there are some technical and methodological pitfalls. The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) raised 8 key issues pertaining to Computerized Ne...
Conference Paper
This paper presents a wearable electrotactile feedback system to enhance contact information for mid-air interactions with virtual objects. In particular, we propose the use of electrotactile feedback to render the interpenetration distance between the user’s finger and the virtual content is touched. Our approach consists of modulating the perceiv...
Preprint
Full-text available
Clinical tools involving immersive virtual reality (VR) may bring several advantages to cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. However, there are some technical and methodological pitfalls. The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) raised 8 key issues pertaining to Computerized Ne...
Preprint
Full-text available
Clinical tools involving immersive virtual reality (VR) may bring several advantages to cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. However, there are some technical and methodological pitfalls. The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) raised 8 key issues pertaining to Computerized Ne...
Preprint
Full-text available
Clinical tools involving immersive virtual reality (VR) may bring several advantages to cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. However, there are some technical and methodological pitfalls. The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) raised 8 key issues pertaining to Computerized Ne...
Preprint
div>Haptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remains an unresolved issue, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wear...
Preprint
Full-text available
Haptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remains an unresolved issue, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable...
Article
Recent research has focused on assessing either event- or time-based prospective memory (PM) using laboratory tasks. Yet, the findings pertaining to PM performance on laboratory tasks are often inconsistent with the findings on corresponding naturalistic experiments. Ecologically valid neuropsychological tasks resemble the complexity and cognitive...