The aim of the proposed study is to determine if a virtual human can
evoke a measurable inhibitory response to anti-social stimuli within the prefrontal
cortex. Justification, protocol and demonstrator are described here. The work
follows a previous study demonstrating that neural inhibitory responses can be
measured within an immersive virtual reality display. We have adopted the approach
of combining functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and virtual reality
head-mounted display. Haemodynamic changes will be measured in healthy
participants and subsequently, subjects with mental deficits, as both engage in
interactions that seek to evoke a response that would normally be inhibited.
Disinhibition is an aspect of social response exaggerated by several deficits of mind,
including dementia, autism and Tourette’s syndrome. This research could improve
tools for understanding, diagnosis and treatment of such condition
