Virtual reality program to help young adults with ADHD focus while studying
Official title: Development of a Novel Virtual Reality Treatment for Emerging Adults with ADHD
Funded at Rutgers, the State Univ of N.j. · NIH-11195280 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A virtual reality headset creates a distraction-free workspace with regular feedback to help emerging adults with ADHD stay focused on homework and studying.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers, the State Univ of N.j. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Piscataway, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $631,089 |
| NIH project number | 4R33MH131632-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11195280 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with ADHD (about age 21 and older), especially college students who struggle to maintain focus during studying or homework, are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without ADHD, those who cannot tolerate VR (for example due to motion sickness), or those with severe comorbid psychiatric or medical conditions may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
You would wear a VR headset that creates a distraction-free virtual workspace and gives automatic, frequent feedback to help you stay on task. The team will compare two different VR approaches against a laptop control using VR passthrough while collecting surveys and objective keyboard and mouse data to measure concentration, motivation, and homework effort. The project starts with small optimization work (including 30 college students) to refine algorithms that detect on-task behavior and then proceeds to a larger randomized trial in the R33 phase. If you take part, you would attend scheduled sessions where your in-task behavior is recorded and your experience is tracked to improve the system.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could offer a non-medication, tech-based tool to improve focus and homework productivity for young adults with ADHD.
How similar studies have gone: Early pilot studies of VR and structured digital environments for attention problems show promise but large randomized trials are still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers, the State Univ of N.j.
Piscataway, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Langberg, Joshua Morris — Rutgers, the State Univ of N.j.
- Study coordinator: Langberg, Joshua Morris
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.