A comparative experimental study of visual brain event-related potentials to a working memory task: virtual reality head-mounted display versus a desktop computer screen

Murat Aksoy,Chiedu E Ufodiama,Anthony D Bateson,Aziz U R Asghar,Stewart Martin

doi:10.1007/s00221-021-06158-w

Murat Aksoy, Chiedu E Ufodiama + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06158-w

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Abstract

Virtual reality head mounted display (VR HMD) systems are increasingly utilised in combination with electroencephalography (EEG) in the experimental study of cognitive tasks. The aim of our investigation was to determine the similarities/differences between VR HMD and the computer screen (CS) in response to an n-back working memory task by comparing visual electrophysiological event-related potential (ERP) waveforms (N1/P1/P3 components). The same protocol was undertaken for VR HMD and CS with participants wearing the same EEG headcap. ERP waveforms obtained with the VR HMD environment followed a similar time course to those acquired in CS. The P3 mean and peak amplitudes obtained in VR HMD were not significantly different to those obtained in CS. In contrast, the N1 component was significantly higher in mean and peak amplitudes for the VR HMD environment compared to CS at the frontal electrodes. Significantly higher P1 mean and peak amplitudes were found at the occipital region compared to the temporal for VR HMD. Our results show that successful acquisition of ERP components to a working memory task is achievable by combining VR HMD with EEG. In addition, the higher amplitude N1/P1 components seen in VR HMD indicates the potential utility of this VR modality in the investigation of early ERPs. In conclusion, the combination of VR HMD with EEG/ERP would be a useful approach to advance the study of cognitive function in experimental brain research.

Highlights

Recent advances in the technical specifications of virtual reality (VR) systems have enabled their utility in the study of cognitive load and function (Cipresso et al 2018; Luong et al 2019; Kourtesis et al 2019; Radianti et al 2020)
We have demonstrated the experimental feasibility and successful acquisition of visual electrophysiological event-related potential (ERP) in response to a cognitive working memory task whilst donning a VR systems in a head-mounted display (VR HMD) over an EEG headcap without the need to make any modifications or customisations
The ERP waveforms obtained using the VR HMD followed a similar time course to those acquired in the computer screen (CS) environment

Summary

Introduction

Recent advances in the technical specifications of virtual reality (VR) systems have enabled their utility in the study of cognitive load and function (Cipresso et al 2018; Luong et al 2019; Kourtesis et al 2019; Radianti et al 2020). Investigation of cognitive tasks as such systems offer the ability to create/control the visual surround and deliver complex stimuli (Harjunen et al 2017; Rupp et al 2019; Dey et al 2019; Tauscher et al 2019; Tremmel et al 2019). Studies have shown the feasibility of combining VR HMD with EEG to acquire brain responses to various cognitive tasks: visual oddball (Tauscher et al 2019), n-back working memory (Dey et al 2019; Luong et al 2019; Tremmel et al 2019), 3-choice vigilance and image recognition (Rupp et al 2019) and bimodal oddball (Harjunen et al 2017) tasks. In the 1-back condition, participants are required to match the current stimulus with the one immediately prior (Watter et al 2001; Pelegrina et al 2015; Scharinger et al 2015)

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