Effects on Mood and EEG States After Meditation in Augmented Reality With and Without Adjunctive Neurofeedback

Jeremy Viczko,Jeff Tarrant,Ray Jackson

doi:10.3389/frvir.2021.618381

Jeremy Viczko, Jeff Tarrant + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.618381

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Abstract

Research and design of virtual reality technologies with mental-health focused applications has increased dramatically in recent years. However, the applications and psychological outcomes of augmented reality (AR) technologies still remain to be widely explored and evaluated. This is particularly true for the use of AR for the self-management of stress, anxiety, and mood. In the current study, we examined the impact of a brief open heart meditation AR experience on participants with moderate levels of anxiety and/or depression. Using a randomized between-group design subjects participated in the AR experience or the AR experience plus frontal gamma asymmetry neurofeedback integrated into the experience. Self-reported mood state and resting-state EEG were recorded before and after the AR intervention for both groups. Participants also reported on engagement and perceived use of the experience as a stress and coping tool. EEG activity was analyzed as a function of the frontal, midline, and parietal scalp regions, and with sLORETA current source density estimates of anterior cingulate and insular cortical regions of interest. Results demonstrated that both versions of the AR meditation significantly reduced negative mood and increased positive mood. The changes in resting state EEG were also comparable between groups, with some trending differences observed, in line with existing research on open heart and other loving-kindness and compassion-based meditations. Engagement was favorable for both versions of the AR experience, with higher levels of engagement reported with the addition of neurofeedback. These results provide early support for the therapeutic potential of AR-integrated meditations as a tool for the self-regulation of mood and emotion, and sets the stage for more research and development into health and wellness-promoting AR applications.

Highlights

There has been a surge in the interest and application of home and mobile technologies to help deliver health and wellbeing programs and interventions
In terms of mood and electrophysiological effects, we anticipated that there would be a significant increase in positive mood state and decreases in negative mood states for both groups, but that these changes would be larger and correlate more strongly with resting state EEG change resulting from the meditation experience
At least in terms of a brief single augmented reality (AR)-guided meditation session, the addition of NF shows negligible differences improving self-reported mood and physiological states altering resting state brain activity. Both groups reported comparable improvements in mood. Both groups had similar patterns of change in brain activity states after the AR experience conducive to more relaxed, calm, and open psychological states, with parallel ratings of positive emotions related to the experience

Summary

Introduction

There has been a surge in the interest and application of home and mobile technologies to help deliver health and wellbeing programs and interventions. Developments over the last decade have allowed high quality virtual reality and augmented reality to be experienced with modern handheld smartphone devices, expanding the reach and potential impact of many health and wellness-promoting products and services. Some clinical applications, such as virtual reality-based exposure therapy for phobias (Bouchard et al, 2007) and PTSD (Motraghi et al, 2014), or for rehabilitation after stroke (e.g., Laver et al, 2015) are demonstrative of the unique and beneficial contribution of this technology. This can improve the ecological validity of training or interventions, increase the user’s sense of presence and engagement with the intervention or experience (Waterworth and Riva, 2014), improve compliance and positive outcomes (Giglioli et al, 2015), and potentially reduce some of the unwanted side effects associated with pure VR immersion, such as real-world environmental unawareness and cybersickness (Silva and Fernando, 2019; Saredakis et al, 2020)

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