Non-immersive 3D virtual stimulus alter the time production task performance and increase the EEG theta power in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Silva, Diandra Caroline Martins E; Marinho, Victor; Teixeira, Silmar; Teles, Gabriela; Marques, João; Escórcio, Anderson; Fernandes, Thayaná; Freitas, Ana Cláudia; Nunes, Monara; Ayres, Marcos; Ayres, Carla; Marques, Juliana Bittencourt; Cagy, Maurício; Gupta, Daya S; Bastos, Victor Hugo

Aim: The study investigated the cortical activity changes and time production task performance induced by changes in motion speed of a non-immersive 3D virtual stimulus. Material and Methods: Twenty-one individuals were participated in the crossover study with the visual-time reproduction task under three-speed conditions: original, slow and fast virtual stimulus. In addition, the electroencephalographic analysis of the theta band power in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was done simultaneously with time production task execution. Results: The results demonstrated that in the slow speed condition, there is an increase in the error in the time production task after virtual reality (p < 0.05). There is also increased EEG theta power in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in all speed conditions (p < 0.05). Conclusions: We propose that the modulations of speed of virtual stimulus may underlie the accumulation of temporal pulses, which could be responsible for changes in the performance of the production task of the time intervals and a substantial increase in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity related to attention and memory, acting in cognitive domains of supraseconds.