Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) is a promising tool for neurological rehabilitation, especially for motor rehabilitation. In the present study, we investigate whether brain activation patterns that are evoked by active movements are comparable when these movements are carried out in reality and in VR. Therefore, 40 healthy adults (20 men, mean age 25.31 years) performed hand movements and viewed these movements in a first-person view in reality, a VR scene showing realistic virtual hands, and a VR scene showing abstract virtual hands, in a randomized order. The VR conditions were presented via an immersive 3D head-mounted display system. EEG activity was assessed over the hand motor areas during and after movement execution. All three conditions led to typical EEG activation patterns over the motor cortex. Hence, brain activation patterns were largely comparable between conditions. However, the VR conditions, especially the abstract VR condition, led to a weaker hemispheric lateralization effect compared to the real-world condition. This indicates that hand models in VR should be realistic to be able to evoke activation patterns in the motor cortex comparable to real-world scenarios.
Highlights
Virtual realities (VR) are increasingly used for entertainment purposes, and as clinical and rehabilitation tools
Adamovich et al (2009) conclude in their review that “imaging studies to evaluate the effects of sensory manipulation on brain activation .... are needed to guide future clinical inquiry” (Adamovich et al 2009, pp. 1). We investigated this question by comparing EEG activation patterns over the motor cortex when watching one’s own hand movements in reality and in VR
The presence experience was stronger in the realistic VR condition (M = 3.46, SE = 0.09) compared to the abstract VR condition (M = 3.27, SE = 0.09) [t(39) = 2.24, p < 0.05]
Summary
Virtual realities (VR) are increasingly used for entertainment purposes, and as clinical and rehabilitation tools. Visual Computing, Graz, Austria to treat anxiety disorders (Meyerbröker and Emmelkamp 2011), pain (Shahnaz Shahrbanian et al 2012), and they are used to support neurological rehabilitation, for instance, to restore hand and foot movements (Adamovich et al 2009; Laver et al 2017; Lee et al 2019; Piron et al 2009; Saposnik and Levin 2011; Shin et al 2016; Sveistrup 2004) For such clinical applications, VR offers the possibility of safe training environments, which can be individually adapted to the patients’ needs.
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