Assessment of Psychophysiological Differences of West Point Cadets and Civilian Controls Immersed within a Virtual Environment

Abstract. An important question for ecologically valid virtual environments is whether cohort characteristics affect immersion. If a method for assessing a cer-tain neurocognitive capacity (e.g. attentional processing) is adapted to a cohort other than the one that was used for the initial normative distribution, data ob-tained in the new cohort may not be reflective of the neurocognitive capacity in question. We assessed the psychophysiological impact of different levels of immersion upon persons from two cohorts: 1) civilian university students; and 2) West Point Cadets. Cadets were found to have diminished startle eyeblink amplitude compared with civilians, which may reflect that cadets experienced less negative affect during the scenario in general. Further, heart rate data re-vealed that Cadets had significantly lower heart rates than Civilians in the “low ” but not “high ” immersion condition. This suggests that “low ” immersion conditions may not have the ecological validity necessary to evoke consistent affect across cohorts

Virtual Reality for Enhanced Ecological Validity and Experimental Control in the Clinical, Affective and Social Neurosciences

This article highlights the potential of virtual reality environments for enhanced ecological validity in the clinical, affective, and social neurosciences

Psychophysiology to Assess Impact of Varying Levels of Simulation Fidelity in a Threat Environment

There are many virtual environments found in the serious game community that simulate real world scenarios. There is a broad range of fidelity and experimental controls among these serious games. An important component to most evaluations is the extent to which level of fidelity impacts the persons immersed in the serious game. While a great deal of virtual environment and serious game research has assessed the subjective state or feeling of the participant (e.g., the participant’s sense of presence) through the use of questionnaires, the current study examines participant experience by examining psychophysiological responses of participants to their surroundings. The primary goal in this study was evaluative: will a virtual environment with arousing contents result in increased sensory arousal if it is presented in a highly immersive configuration? A secondary goal of this study was to investigate the utility of our environment to offer varying levels of stimulus threat to impact the user’s experience of the virtual environment. Increased simulation fidelity in an arousing environment resulted in faster heart rates and increased startle eyeblink amplitudes, suggesting that higher fidelity scenarios had great efficacy related to sensory arousal

The VESPA Project: Virtual Reality Interventions for Neurocognitive and Developmental Disorders

VESPA is a financed project supported by the Sicilian Regional Research and Development funds, and it is structured by the development, research and validation of Virtual Reality (VR) based application for the diagnosis and treatment of neurocognitive conditions. In particular, this article presents its characteristics, referred to as the first (2013-2015) and second (2021-ongoing) generations of VESPA, with particular reference to literature regarding the VR technology application and development, the VR treatment of neurocognitive conditions and prior versions of this intervention. Through a comprehensive review of the research conducted over the last 5 years, evidence has emerged supporting VESPA’s aim and scopes, highlighting how the application of VR can be considered to add value to typical rehabilitation/therapeutic paths. VESPA project generations are then presented in detail, including specific session/task battery characteristics, 2.5D, 3D and 5D typologies, system usability and architecture and pathological domain-based dynamics and features. The discussion about VESPA will highlight the current advantages along with limitations and future directions

Optimum virtual environment for solving cognitive tasks by individuals with autism spectrum disorders: The questions and methods of design

The number of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is growing in Russia and the world at large. It is important to find ways to diagnose and correct the work with such individuals. There is much evidence that children with ASDs often exhibit pronounced communicative difficulties, problems in establishing visual contact etc. Specialists working with this category of patients face serious difficulties in trying to find effective ways to interact with them. The use of virtual reality environments that have the necessary parameters, determined theoretically, experimentally, and practically, can mitigate these difficulties. The study has shown that, at present, there is much experience in the field of virtual reality application while working with children who have ASDs. Nevertheless, there are several unspecified issues. First, as far as the perception of virtual reality by people with ASDs are concerned, it is especially important to study them. Of much importance are the peculiarities of their states associated with virtual reality, while solving cognitive tasks during diagnostic and corrective work stage, as well as in obtaining education. It is necessary to choose the right methods of visualization and interaction in a virtual environment. The focal point of the article is to justify the project of creating a virtual reality for the diagnosis and socialization of individuals with ASDs, i.e., its structure, stages and methods. In addition, the work is of interest in connection with the research of the phenomenon of presence in virtual reality. © 2019 IJCRSEE. All rights reserved.The work was supported by act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006. The work was supported by RFBR

DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCES IN SCHOOL EDUCATION (A DIDACTIC INTERPRETATION)

The contemporary socio-cultural and educational situation points the attention to the analysis and construction of opportunities for the formation and development of transversal competences in school education. It is expedient therefore that within the process of education in all school subjects and throughout all ages and cognitive activities the decisions for the design of a suitable educational environment should be systematized and specified in such a way as to guarantee that knowledge and skills can be continuously regrouped in accordance with context. In other words, these skills and the knowledge they are based on, should form the foundation of transversal competences that can be applied regardless of age and activities. The design of invariant technologies for the development of transversal competences is also related to the coordination of a variety of approaches, principles and conditions of education in such a manner as to provide effectiveness when these technologies are specifically applied as variants. This creates a necessity for a didactic interpretation of the means of development of transversal competences. Additionally, it poses a necessity to improve teachers’ special preparation and qualification to design educational environment that can guarantee the achievement of transversal competences as an educational outcome. The present research offers opportunities to realize this goal in an integrative and integrating process rather than as an isolated endevour on part of the teachers or as an unorganized effort on part of the students. This in turn poses some new requirements to the system of school education as a whole

Modulating presence and impulsiveness by external stimulation of the brain

BACKGROUND: "The feeling of being there" is one possible way to describe the phenomenon of feeling present in a virtual environment and to act as if this environment is real. One brain area, which is hypothesized to be critically involved in modulating this feeling (also called presence) is the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), an area also associated with the control of impulsive behavior. METHODS: In our experiment we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the right dlPFC in order to modulate the experience of presence while watching a virtual roller coaster ride. During the ride we also registered electro-dermal activity. Subjects also performed a test measuring impulsiveness and answered a questionnaire about their presence feeling while they were exposed to the virtual roller coaster scenario. RESULTS: Application of cathodal tDCS to the right dlPFC while subjects were exposed to a virtual roller coaster scenario modulates the electrodermal response to the virtual reality stimulus. In addition, measures reflecting impulsiveness were also modulated by application of cathodal tDCS to the right dlPFC. CONCLUSION: Modulating the activation with the right dlPFC results in substantial changes in responses of the vegetative nervous system and changed impulsiveness. The effects can be explained by theories discussing the top-down influence of the right dlPFC on the "impulsive system"

Automatic detection of disorientation among people with dementia

Ageing is characterized by decline in cognition including visuospatial function, necessary for independently executing instrumental activities of daily living. The onset of Alzheimer’s disease dementia exacerbates this decline, leading to major challenges for patients and increased burden for caregivers. An important function affected by this decline is spatial orientation. This work provides insight into substrates of real-world wayfinding challenges among older adults, with emphasis on viable features aiding the detection of spatial disorientation and design of possible interventions

The perception of emotion in artificial agents

Given recent technological developments in robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, it is perhaps unsurprising that the arrival of emotionally expressive and reactive artificial agents is imminent. However, if such agents are to become integrated into our social milieu, it is imperative to establish an understanding of whether and how humans perceive emotion in artificial agents. In this review, we incorporate recent findings from social robotics, virtual reality, psychology, and neuroscience to examine how people recognize and respond to emotions displayed by artificial agents. First, we review how people perceive emotions expressed by an artificial agent, such as facial and bodily expressions and vocal tone. Second, we evaluate the similarities and differences in the consequences of perceived emotions in artificial compared to human agents. Besides accurately recognizing the emotional state of an artificial agent, it is critical to understand how humans respond to those emotions. Does interacting with an angry robot induce the same responses in people as interacting with an angry person? Similarly, does watching a robot rejoice when it wins a game elicit similar feelings of elation in the human observer? Here we provide an overview of the current state of emotion expression and perception in social robotics, as well as a clear articulation of the challenges and guiding principles to be addressed as we move ever closer to truly emotional artificial agents

A survey of Alzheimer's disease early diagnosis methods for cognitive assessment

Dementia is a syndrome that is characterised by the decline of different cognitive abilities. A high rate of deaths and high cost for detection, treatments, and patients care count amongst its consequences. Although there is no cure for dementia, a timely diagnosis helps in obtaining necessary support, appropriate medication, and maintenance, as far as possible, of engagement in intellectual, social, and physical activities. The early detection of Alzheimer Disease (AD) is considered to be of high importance for improving the quality of life of patients and their families. In particular, Virtual Reality (VR) is an expanding tool that can be used in order to assess cognitive abilities while navigating through a Virtual Environment (VE). The paper summarises common AD screening and diagnosis techniques focusing on the latest approaches that are based on Virtual Environments, behaviour analysis, and emotions recognition, aiming to provide more reliable and non-invasive diagnostics at home or in a clinical environment. Furthermore, different AD diagnosis evaluation methods and metrics are presented and discussed together with an overview of the different datasets