In this edition of the Edify Fireside Chats we were joined by Dr Gang Li, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Glasgow’s School of Psychology. Dr Li’s research focuses on EEG brainwave testing and integrating feedback from EEG scans into VR scenarios. EEGs, or electroencephalograms, detect the electrical activity of your brain – they work by placing electrodes on your head, which detect the electrical impulses your brain generates as it functions. These tests can be used to provide data on how the brain processes immersive experiences like VR.

‍

So, why is integrating data from EEG scans into VR experiences and VR research important? Dr Li says that there are three primary applications for EEG data in the realm of VR:

‍

1) Integrating EEG into VR for Entertainment

‍

Integrating EEG feedback into VR for entertainment tends to involve creating paradigms for controlling VR experiences with your thoughts. Dr Li discussed three main paradigms for doing this. The first one he discussed was flying a drone by thinking of a direction. Although it’s relatively simple for the user to do this, the technology behind this paradigm is relatively inefficient as the brainwave signal that the EEG needs to pick up is a weak signal, and it takes on average four seconds to translate thought into action.  

‍

The second paradigm Dr Li discussed was motor imagery – the user controls the drone by imagining that they are manipulating controls. As the brainwaves that are generated when you imagine manipulating controls are much stronger than those generated by thinking of a direction, this is a much easier way to control the drone. It takes only 30ms to turn thought into action. But there’s a trade-off inherent to this paradigm: while thinking of a direction is relatively straightforward, users need training to imagine manipulating controls in this way.  

‍

The third paradigm doesn’t involve controlling drones at all. Instead, it centres on relaxation exercises. As the user relaxes, their brain generates alpha waves, and when the EEG picks up these waves, the VR environment the user is in changes. This paradigm is immediate – alpha waves are very easy to detect via EEG – and it requires no training whatsoever on the part of the user, as everyone knows how to relax (even if they don’t get the chance to relax very often). This paradigm has applications in mindfulness settings, and researchers have found that users who engage in relaxation exercises such as these show improved attention and engagement.

‍

2) Integrating EEG into VR for Cognitive Therapeutic Applications

‍

Following on from research on controlling VR with alpha waves, Dr Li worked to develop a VR paradigm for assessing users’ spatial attention in virtual environments. His experiment hypothesized that spatial attention improved in virtual reality, and it used EEG devices to measure VR users’ brainwaves as they followed a moving target while other targets appeared and tried to distract them. Dr Li found that users who performed the task in VR were more attentive and less easily distracted than users who performed the task on a normal screen. This research has applications in medical and therapeutic fields as it means that it’s easier for patients to gain the full benefits from attention-based therapies.

‍

3) Reducing VR Motion Sickness through EEG

‍

Some 60% of VR users experience motion sickness when they’re immersed in VR environments. This means that the applications for VR and the benefits of the technology are currently limited. At present, there are two main ways of mitigating motion sickness in VR settings, besides simply not using VR – reducing the users’ motion or reducing the users’ field of view. Both mitigation strategies come with a significant drawback: they make the user less immersed in their virtual environment. But Dr Li’s research into brainwave patterns points to another way to reduce motion sickness without changing the content of the VR experience or how users interact with their virtual environments.  

‍

Dr Li’s research found that the vestibular system, the sensory system that controls your sense of balance and spatial orientation, is very active in cases of VR-induced motion sickness, and he used electrical stimulation to dampen the response. His EEG research allowed him to find out what parts of the brain were overactive – the frontal and left parietal lobes in particular – and where to place electrodes to dampen this response. The next phase of his research could include using fMRI scanners to map the brain’s activity yet more precisely but this is difficult as the magnetic material in virtually every commercially available VR headset would interfere with the MRI scanners.

‍

Want to find out more about Dr Li’s research and the benefits that integrating EEG scans into VR technology can bring? Watch Dr Li’s talk here, and sign up to Edify’s mailing list for the latest information on our upcoming Fireside Chats.

‍

Curious about how you could leverage virtual reality to enhance learning outcomes? Find out more about how we partner with universities on our dedicated higher education page.

‍