Virtual reality and the role of the prefrontal cortex in adults and children

Abstract

In this review, the neural underpinnings of the experience of presence are outlined. Firstly, it is shown that presence is associated with activation of a distributed network, which includes the dorsal and ventral visual stream, the parietal cortex, the premotor cortex, mesial temporal areas, the brainstem and the thalamus. Secondly, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is identified as a key node of the network as it modulates the activity of the network and the associated experience of presence. Thirdly, children lack the strong modulatory influence of the DLPFC on the network due to their unmatured frontal cortex. Fourthly, it is shown that presence-related measures are influenced by manipulating the activation in the DLPFC using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) while participants are exposed to the virtual roller coaster ride. Finally, the findings are discussed in the context of current models explaining the experience of presence, the rubber hand illusion, and out-of-body experiences.

Brain-Computer Interface Systems Used for Virtual Reality Control

“…Moreover, it is a matter of ongoing research whether BCI training in stimulus-rich virtual environments is more effective than the standard training procedure using simple, more or less abstract, visual cues and feedback stimuli. The literature suggests that a realistic VE enhances the feeling of presence, task performance and also cortical activation (Jäncke et al, 2009;Lee and Kim, 2008;Slater et al, 2002). Combining BCI and VR technologies can lead to highly realistic and immersive BCI feedback scenarios that make participants more engaged and motivated.…”

Contributions to Neuropsychotherapy of the Combined Use of Neuroimaging and Virtual Exposure for Assessment in Psychological Treatments.

“…Contrasting the functional activation seen during these two conditions ("navigation > video"), results showed a higher activation of the parietal and occipital brain regions, including the cuneus, during the navigation condition, as hypothesized, but also activation of the right insula. These areas are included in the distributed network activated by presence that was described by Jäncke et al (2009). Moreover, the differential subjective sense of presence reported by participants in the questionnaires between the navigation and video conditions, was shown to be inversely correlated to the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and directly correlated to the activation of the lingual gyrus and cuneus and other occipital and temporal regions.…”

“…The activation of those areas does not necessarily imply stimulation of the sense of presence. As Jäncke et al (2009) explained, it is a network involved in the control of many other psychological functions, and "the psychological specificity cannot be inferred simply by identifying the activated brain structures". Moreover, the primary aim was to demonstrate the validity of fMRI as a tool to evaluate presence; not to map the brain network involved in its stimulation.…”

“…This area is related to executive processing within working memory (Petrides, 2000) and controls the visual information that comes from the visualization of the virtual environment, being involved in the decrease of the sense of presence (Koechlin et al, 2003). Moreover, Jäncke et al (2009) also remarked its importance in modulating and generating the activity of the network associated with the experience of presence. Regarding the positive correlations, there were obtained significant activations in the lingual gyrus, cerebellum; middle, sub-gyral and superior temporal lobe; calcarine and cuneus.…”

Contributions to the Development of Objective Techniques for Presence Measurement in Virtual Environments by means of Brain Activity Analysis

“…Presence has been 1 presented as an object of study for neuroscientists [15]. Some studies using techniques such as electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze brain activity during presence experiences have been published during the development of the present PhD Thesis [16,17,18].…”