Volume Introduction and Overview

Abstract

The development of technologies that can be applied to rehabilitation offers tremendous promise for enhancing functional capacity by eliminating or minimizing the functional limitations imposed by disability. As new rehabilitation technologies emerge, it is our responsibility as scientists and clinicians to determine how these can best be used to support and modify human behavior. This requires that we understand both how technology development interfaces with human performance and how therapeutic interventions can be adapted to employ the technology effectively. Technologies based on VR provide multiple levels at which this interface may occur, ranging from the most basic sensorimotor mechanisms to the more complex learning and psychosocial aspects of human behavior. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the scope and chapter content of the volume.