An exploratory fNIRS study with immersive virtual reality: a new method for technical implementation

ForovertwodecadesVirtualReality(VR)hasbeenusedasausefultoolinseveralfields,frommedicalandpsychologicaltreatments,toindustrialandmilitaryapplications.OnlyinrecentyearsresearchershavebeguntostudytheneuralcorrelatesthatsubtendVRexperiences.EvenifthefunctionalMagneticResonanceImaging(fMRI)isthemostcommonandusedtechnique,itsuffersseverallimitationsandproblems.Herewepresentamethodologythatinvolvestheuseofanewandgrowingbrainimagingtechnique,functionalNear-infraredSpectroscopy(fNIRS),whileparticipantsexperienceimmersiveVR.InordertoallowaproperfNIRSprobeapplication,acustom-madeVRhelmetwascreated.Totesttheadaptedhelmet,avirtualversionofthelinebisectiontaskwasused.Participantscouldbisectthelinesinavirtualperipersonalorextrapersonalspace,throughthemanipulationofaNintendoWiimote®controllerinorderfortheparticipantstomoveavirtuallaserpointer.Althoughnoneuralcorrelatesofthedissociationbetweenperipersonalandextrapersonalspacewerefound,asignificanthemodynamicactivitywithrespecttothebaselinewaspresentintherightparietalandoccipitalareas.Bothadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthepresentedmethodologyarediscussed.