Comparing brain activity in virtual and non-virtual environments: A VR & EEG study

The use of virtual reality (VR) technology in marketing, education and training is growing rapidly. However, the body of quantitative research comparing the cognitive impact of virtual with non-virtual environments is still small. To address this, the present research invited subjects to perform the same cognitive visuospatial task using both an immersive, head-mounted display (HMD) and a tablet computer. Cortical activity was then measured and compared in both environments using EEG. The results showed significant differences in cognitive load for the HMD condition, particularly in the frontal midline theta rhythm (4–8 Hz), a range commonly associated with a variety of executive functions. Explanations for this effect include potential misattribution of distance/object size in virtual space and the relative novelty of VR itself. Further research is needed to determine the underlying parameters that impact cognitive responses to complex tasks while immersed in a virtual environment.