Enhancing the Ecological Validity of fMRI Memory Research Using Virtual Reality

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful research tool to understand the neural underpinnings of human memory. However, as memory is known to be context-dependent, differences in contexts between naturalistic settings and the MRI scanner environment may potentially confound neuroim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in neuroscience 2018-06, Vol.12, p.408-408
Main Authors: Reggente, Nicco, Essoe, Joey K-Y, Aghajan, Zahra M, Tavakoli, Amir V, McGuire, Joseph F, Suthana, Nanthia A, Rissman, Jesse
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain research
Child & adolescent psychiatry
Computer applications
context
Design
ecological validity
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Medical imaging
Memory
Navigation behavior
Neuroimaging
Neuroscience
Paradigms
Researchers
Scanners
Spatial memory
Trends
Validity
Virtual reality
virtual reality (VR)
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Summary:Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful research tool to understand the neural underpinnings of human memory. However, as memory is known to be context-dependent, differences in contexts between naturalistic settings and the MRI scanner environment may potentially confound neuroimaging findings. Virtual reality (VR) provides a unique opportunity to mitigate this issue by allowing memories to be formed and/or retrieved within immersive, navigable, visuospatial contexts. This can enhance the ecological validity of task paradigms, while still ensuring that researchers maintain experimental control over critical aspects of the learning and testing experience. This mini-review surveys the growing body of fMRI studies that have incorporated VR to address critical questions about human memory. These studies have adopted a variety of approaches, including presenting research participants with VR experiences in the scanner, asking participants to retrieve information that they had previously acquired in a VR environment, or identifying neural correlates of behavioral metrics obtained through VR-based tasks performed outside the scanner. Although most such studies to date have focused on spatial or navigational memory, we also discuss the promise of VR in aiding other areas of memory research and facilitating research into clinical disorders.
ISSN:1662-4548
1662-453X
1662-453X
DOI:10.3389/fnins.2018.00408