Brain Activity Reflects Sense of Presence in 360° Video for Virtual Reality

Over the past decade virtual reality (VR) has shown some major advancements in research and development. One of the most important aspects of VR user experience is the sense of presence, the feeling of being present in the virtual environment. So far, sense of presence has been most commonly measured through subjective post-experience questionnaires. In the current study, we aimed to examine whether objective measures of brain activity can provide additional insights. Participants watched an affective 360 VR video while their brain activity was monitored using electroencephalography (EEG). Moreover, participants reported their subjective sense of presence after the VR experience. Compared to a baseline and a post measure, EEG alpha power decreased during the VR experience. Furthermore, this change in brain activity was related to the participants’ subjective sense of presence. These findings highlight the high potential of brain imaging techniques in assessing a user’s experience in VR.