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. 2016 Feb 16:10:53.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00053. eCollection 2016.

Prefrontal Cortex Activation Upon a Demanding Virtual Hand-Controlled Task: A New Frontier for Neuroergonomics

Marika Carrieri  1 , Andrea Petracca  1 , Stefania Lancia  1 , Sara Basso Moro  1 , Sabrina Brigadoi  2 , Matteo Spezialetti  1 , Marco Ferrari  3 , Giuseppe Placidi  1 , Valentina Quaresima  1
Affiliations

Prefrontal Cortex Activation Upon a Demanding Virtual Hand-Controlled Task: A New Frontier for Neuroergonomics

Marika Carrieri et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive vascular-based functional neuroimaging technology that can assess, simultaneously from multiple cortical areas, concentration changes in oxygenated-deoxygenated hemoglobin at the level of the cortical microcirculation blood vessels. fNIRS, with its high degree of ecological validity and its very limited requirement of physical constraints to subjects, could represent a valid tool for monitoring cortical responses in the research field of neuroergonomics. In virtual reality (VR) real situations can be replicated with greater control than those obtainable in the real world. Therefore, VR is the ideal setting where studies about neuroergonomics applications can be performed. The aim of the present study was to investigate, by a 20-channel fNIRS system, the dorsolateral/ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC/VLPFC) in subjects while performing a demanding VR hand-controlled task (HCT). Considering the complexity of the HCT, its execution should require the attentional resources allocation and the integration of different executive functions. The HCT simulates the interaction with a real, remotely-driven, system operating in a critical environment. The hand movements were captured by a high spatial and temporal resolution 3-dimensional (3D) hand-sensing device, the LEAP motion controller, a gesture-based control interface that could be used in VR for tele-operated applications. Fifteen University students were asked to guide, with their right hand/forearm, a virtual ball (VB) over a virtual route (VROU) reproducing a 42 m narrow road including some critical points. The subjects tried to travel as long as possible without making VB fall. The distance traveled by the guided VB was 70.2 ± 37.2 m. The less skilled subjects failed several times in guiding the VB over the VROU. Nevertheless, a bilateral VLPFC activation, in response to the HCT execution, was observed in all the subjects. No correlation was found between the distance traveled by the guided VB and the corresponding cortical activation. These results confirm the suitability of fNIRS technology to objectively evaluate cortical hemodynamic changes occurring in VR environments. Future studies could give a contribution to a better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying human performance either in expert or non-expert operators during the simulation of different demanding/fatiguing activities.

Keywords: LEAP motion controller; brain activation; functional near-infrared spectroscopy; hand-controlled task; neuroergonomics; remote control; virtual reality.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental setting for the execution of a virtual reality (VR) hand-controlled task (HCT). The upper large image shows the subject with the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) probe holder while sitting in front of a PC, and the positioning of the LEAP motion controller below the operator hand. The four columns of small images show (from left to right): the real position of the subject hand/forearm (first column); the corresponding hand/forearm virtual model (second column); the influence of the commands on the virtual ball (VB) during the HCT (third column); and the corresponding effects on a real, remote, spider-like rover (fourth column, in dashed line to indicate that the presence of the rover is just supposed). The yellow arrow indicates the direction of the guided VB and the red arrow indicates the corresponding effect on the rover. The length of the arrows indicates the force amplitude impressed by the operator. Note that, during the HCT, the hand/forearm virtual model (second column) was not shown to the operator and the visualization of the arrows (third column) was disabled.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A perspective view of the designed virtual route (VROU) which reproduces a narrow road including some critical points. 1: stairs; 2: turns; 3: slippery part; 4: climbs; and 5: sequential turns.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Grand average of O2Hb (red line) and HHb (blue line) changes observed over the bilateral PFC [16 measurement points of the right (from 1–8) and left (from 9–16) hemisphere] in response to the VR HCT. The corresponding numbers in the brackets refer to the associated Brodmann’s Area (BA). The vertical solid lines limit the duration of the task execution. The major cortical activation was observed in the bilateral VLPFC (measurement points 7, 8, 15, and 16). N = 15; means ± SD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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