Effect of Immersion (2D vs. 3D) on Attention through Virtual Reality

There are growing evidences which shows the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in numerous fields such as education, real estate, research, data mining etc. However, the role of neural substrate in information processing vary when the level of immersion in VR changes. It leads to variation in performance task based on the attention in the task. There are very few studies which deal with the effectiveness of immersions in display of information with neuroscience. In this experiment, we examined effect of fully immersive 3D VR and less immersive desktop VR environments on the brain. In this, eight participated in spatial navigation task in three modes. Each mode consisted of different times. Electroencephalography (EEG) was acquired during third person's and first person's perspective navigation. After each mode some questions were asked to check the attention of the participants. Result was analysed using energy and power spectral density of Gamma and Alpha bands. Alpha band showed reduction in 3D VR while Gamma Band showed enhancement in 3D VR. The objective score of questionnaires in both 3D and desktop VR showed the amount of alertness. The immersive virtual reality results shows that it had much more immersion and it provided more information compared to Desktop VR. Also, there was increase in alertness in immersive virtual reality. This study confirmed use of 3D VR in displaying information using EEG for enhancing performance in normal and rehabilitation.