Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot study
Motor-imagery brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCIs) have the potential to improve motor function in individuals with neurological disorders. Their effectiveness relies on patients’ ability to generate reliable MI-related electroencephalography (EEG) patterns, which can be influenced by the quality of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1265010/full |
| _version_ | 1797362331829665792 |
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| author | Katarina Vagaja Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen Athanasios Vourvopoulos |
| author_facet | Katarina Vagaja Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen Athanasios Vourvopoulos |
| author_sort | Katarina Vagaja |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Motor-imagery brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCIs) have the potential to improve motor function in individuals with neurological disorders. Their effectiveness relies on patients’ ability to generate reliable MI-related electroencephalography (EEG) patterns, which can be influenced by the quality of neurofeedback. Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool for enhancing proprioceptive feedback due to its ability to induce a sense of embodiment (SoE), where individuals perceive a virtual body as their own. Although prior research has highlighted the importance of SoE in enhancing MI skills and BCI performance, to date, no study has successfully isolated nor manipulated the SoE in VR before MI training, creating a gap in our understanding of the precise role of the priming effect of embodiment in MI-BCIs. In this study, we aimed to examine whether the virtual SoE when induced, as priming of avatar embodiment, and assessed before MI training, could enhance MI-induced EEG patterns. To achieve this, we divided 26 healthy participants into two groups: the embodied group, which experienced SoE with an avatar before undergoing VR-based MI training, and the non-embodied group, which underwent the same MI training without a prior embodiment phase, serving as a control. We analyzed subjective measures of embodiment, the event-related desynchronization (ERD) power of the sensorimotor rhythms, lateralization of ERD, and offline classification BCI accuracy. Although the embodiment phase effectively induced SoE in the embodied group, both groups exhibited similar MI-induced ERD patterns and BCI classification accuracy. This suggests that the induction of SoE prior to MI training may not significantly influence the training outcomes. Instead, it appears that the integration of embodied VR feedback during MI training itself is sufficient to induce appropriate ERD, as evidenced by previous research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:06:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7df8a7a113e2413eb09715943a60bfb8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4192 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:06:30Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| spelling | doaj.art-7df8a7a113e2413eb09715943a60bfb82024-01-08T05:49:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Virtual Reality2673-41922024-01-01410.3389/frvir.2023.12650101265010Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot studyKatarina Vagaja0Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen1Athanasios Vourvopoulos2Bioengineering Department, Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa), Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsBioengineering Department, Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa), Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, PortugalMotor-imagery brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCIs) have the potential to improve motor function in individuals with neurological disorders. Their effectiveness relies on patients’ ability to generate reliable MI-related electroencephalography (EEG) patterns, which can be influenced by the quality of neurofeedback. Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool for enhancing proprioceptive feedback due to its ability to induce a sense of embodiment (SoE), where individuals perceive a virtual body as their own. Although prior research has highlighted the importance of SoE in enhancing MI skills and BCI performance, to date, no study has successfully isolated nor manipulated the SoE in VR before MI training, creating a gap in our understanding of the precise role of the priming effect of embodiment in MI-BCIs. In this study, we aimed to examine whether the virtual SoE when induced, as priming of avatar embodiment, and assessed before MI training, could enhance MI-induced EEG patterns. To achieve this, we divided 26 healthy participants into two groups: the embodied group, which experienced SoE with an avatar before undergoing VR-based MI training, and the non-embodied group, which underwent the same MI training without a prior embodiment phase, serving as a control. We analyzed subjective measures of embodiment, the event-related desynchronization (ERD) power of the sensorimotor rhythms, lateralization of ERD, and offline classification BCI accuracy. Although the embodiment phase effectively induced SoE in the embodied group, both groups exhibited similar MI-induced ERD patterns and BCI classification accuracy. This suggests that the induction of SoE prior to MI training may not significantly influence the training outcomes. Instead, it appears that the integration of embodied VR feedback during MI training itself is sufficient to induce appropriate ERD, as evidenced by previous research.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1265010/fullembodimentprimingvirtual hand illusionvirtual realityEEGmotor imagery |
| spellingShingle | Katarina Vagaja Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen Athanasios Vourvopoulos Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot study Frontiers in Virtual Reality embodiment priming virtual hand illusion virtual reality EEG motor imagery |
| title | Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot study |
| title_full | Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot study |
| title_fullStr | Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot study |
| title_short | Avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in VR does not affect the induced event-related desynchronization: a pilot study |
| title_sort | avatar embodiment prior to motor imagery training in vr does not affect the induced event related desynchronization a pilot study |
| topic | embodiment priming virtual hand illusion virtual reality EEG motor imagery |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1265010/full |
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