Walk the Plank! Using mobile EEG to investigate emotional lateralization of immersive fear in virtual reality

Abstract

Most studies on emotion processing rely on the presentation of emotional images or films. However, this methodology lacks ecological validity, limiting the extent to which findings can generalize to emotion processing in the wild. More realistic paradigms using Virtual Reality (VR) may be better suited to investigate authentic emotional states and their neuronal correlates. This preregistered study examines the neuronal underpinnings of naturalistic fear, measured using mobile electroencephalography (EEG). Seventy five healthy participants entered a simulation in which they walked across a virtual plank which extended from the side of a skyscraper either 80 stories up (the negative condition) or at street level (the neutral condition). Subjective ratings showed that the negative condition induced feelings of fear and presence. Following the VR experience, subjects passively viewed negative and neutral images from the International Affective Picture system (IAPS) outside of VR. We compared frontal alpha asymmetry between the plank and IAPS task and across valence of the conditions. Asymmetry indices (AI) in the plank task revealed greater right-hemispheric lateralization during the negative VR condition, relative to the neutral VR condition and to IAPS viewing. Within the IAPS task, no significant asymmetries were detected, though AIs in the VR task and in the IAPS task were negatively correlated suggesting that stronger right-hemispheric activation in the VR task was associated with stronger left-hemispheric activation during the IAPS task. In summary, our findings indicate that immersive technologies such as VR can advance emotion research by providing more ecologically valid ways to induce emotion.

Ewww–Investigating the neural basis of disgust in response to naturalistic and pictorial nauseating stimuli

“…As hypothesized, we found stronger relative right-hemispheric activation in response to naturalistic compared to pictorial nauseating stimuli indicating that the method of presentation not only affects behavioral but also cerebral responses associated with avoidance and negative affect. These findings suggest that naturalistic stimuli are superior in emotion research and that pictures are suboptimal to induce affective states in line with other studies that failed to find changes in asymmetry using pictorial stimuli (31,(52)(53)(54). It could be argued that these results could be attributed to higher arousal resulting from the presentation of naturalistic stimuli.…”

“…Regarding negative emotions, fMRI studies have incorporated real human interactions such as insults by the experimenter to invoke feelings of anger in the participants ( 29 , 30 ). A mobile EEG study has investigated the neural correlates of fear comparing a virtual plank-walking task eliciting strong and immersive fear reactions compared to the presentation of IAPS pictures in a within-subject design ( 31 ). Here, only the plank task was related to stronger relative frontal alpha power associated with stronger right-hemispheric activation ( 32 ).…”

Emotional body postures affect inhibitory control only when task-relevant

“…A promising way to study the impact of emotional processing on motor control in settings resembling more real-life social situations is to employ virtual reality to build three-dimensional avatars. Such an approach will allow the creation of naturalistic events while maintaining a highly controlled experimental environment ( Basbasse et al, 2022 ).…”

Self-Assessed Experience of Emotional Involvement in Sensory Analysis Performed in Virtual Reality

“…Moreover, Pavic et al [45] highlighted encouraging results regarding the effectiveness of VR in fostering positive emotions. Additionally, Basbasse et al [46] suggested that stronger experiences of emotions, particularly fear, in VR tasks are associated with higher levels of asymmetry for negative emotions. This indicates that VR can elicit intense emotional responses, potentially leading to a decrease in negative emotions.…”

“…However, it is essential to note that the impact of VR on emotions is not universally positive. It has been found that negative emotions intensified by VR were correlated with negative rumination; for example, Basbasse et al [46] indicated potential negative emotional consequences of VR experiences. Furthermore, Li et al [48] highlighted that the negative effects of immersive VR were associated with a reduction in felt pleasantness, indicating potential negative emotional outcomes.…”