title: Effects of Exercise in Immersive Virtual Environments on Cortical Neural Oscillations and Mental State.
abstract: Virtual reality environments are increasingly being used to encourage individuals to exercise more regularly, including as part of treatment those with mental health or neurological disorders. The success of virtual environments likely depends on whether a sense of presence can be established, where participants become fully immersed in the virtual environment. Exposure to virtual environments is associated with physiological responses, including cortical activation changes. Whether the addition of a real exercise within a virtual environment alters sense of presence perception, or the accompanying physiological changes, is not known. In a randomized and controlled study design, moderate-intensity Exercise (i.e., self-paced cycling) and No-Exercise (i.e., automatic propulsion) trials were performed within three levels of virtual environment exposure. Each trial was 5 minutes in duration and was followed by posttrial assessments of heart rate, perceived sense of presence, EEG, and mental state. Changes in psychological strain and physical state were generally mirrored by neural activation patterns. Furthermore, these changes indicated that exercise augments the demands of virtual environment exposures and this likely contributed to an enhanced sense of presence.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vogt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Visual Computing and Department of Computer Science, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Grantham-Allee 20, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany ; Department of Computer Science and Engineering, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M3J 1P3 ; Faculty of Computer Science, University of New Brunswick, 550 Windsor Street, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 5A3.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herpers
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Sport Sciences, Faculty for Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4558, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Askew
authors.affiliation: Institute of Visual Computing and Department of Computer Science, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Grantham-Allee 20, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scherfgen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Heiko K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Strüder
authors.affiliation: Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany ; School of Health and Sport Sciences, Faculty for Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4558, Australia.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000513:Alpha Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D001611:Beta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D001642:Bicycling; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004777:Environment; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult