The present study investigated the influence of virtual depth on attentional asymmetries in healthy young participants (n = 20), by administering a variation of a luminance judgment task as well as a line bisection task in different depth locations (peripersonal, extrapersonal) within three-dimensional virtual space. Pseudoneglect was present in both tasks and depth locations with clear emphasis on peripersonal space. The results show highly significant attentional asymmetries in virtual space that are comparable to real space and suggest that Virtual Reality (VR) is an appropriate tool for assessing visuo-spatial attention in virtual space.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GoodaleM. A.MilnerA. D. (1992). Separate visual pathways for perception and action. Trends in Neurosciences, 15, 20–25.
2.
HeberIAWolterMKuhlenTFimmB (2007). Asymmetries of covert attention in virtual space. Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine (ARCTT), (5): 343.
3.
HeberIAValvodaJTKuhlenTFimmB (2008). Low arousal modulates visuo-spatial attention in three-dimensional virtual space. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 14 (2).
4.
HeilmanK.M.Van Den AbellT. (1980). Right hemisphere dominance for attention: The mechanism underlying hemispheric asymmetries of inattention (neglect). Neurology, 30, 327–330.
5.
JewellG.McCourtM.E. (2000). Pseudoneglect: A review and meta-analysis of performance factors in line bisection tasks. Neuropsychologia, 23, 93–110.
6.
LadavasE.FameA. (2004). Visuo-tactile representation of near-the-body space. Journal of Physiology, Paris, 98, 161–70.
7.
LoomisJ.M.BlascovichJ.J.BeallA.C. (1999). Immersive virtual environment technology as a basic research tool in psychology. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 31, 557–564.
8.
LosierB.J.KleinR.M. (2004). Covert orienting within peripersonal and extrapersonal space: Young adults. Cognitive Brain Research, 19, 269–274.
9.
MaringelliF.McCarthyJ.SteedA.SlaterM.UmiltaC. (2001). Shifting visuo-spatial attention in a virtual three-dimensional space. Cognitive Brain Research, 10, 317–322.
10.
MattingleyJ.B.BerberovicN.CorbenL.SlavinM.J.NichollsM.E.R.BradshawJ.L. (2004). The greyscales task: A perceptual measure of attentional bias following unilateral hemispheric damage. Neuropsychologia, 42, 387–394.
11.
McCourtM.E.GarlinghouseM. (2000). Asymmetries of visuospatial attention are modulated by viewing distance and visual field elevation: Pseudoneglect in peripersonal and extrapersonal space. Cortex, 36, 715–731.
12.
McCourtM.E.JewellG. (1999). Visuospatial attention in line bisection: Stimulus modulation of pseudoneglect. Neuropsychologia, 37, 843–855.
13.
McCourtM.E.OlafsonC. (1997). Cognitive and perceptual influences on visual line bisection: Psychophysical and chronometric analyses of pseudoneglect. Neuropsychologia, 35, 369–380.
14.
MesulamM.M. (1999). Spatial attention and neglect: Parietal, frontal and cingulate contributions to the mental representation and attentional targeting of salient extrapersonal events. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., 354, 1325–1346.
15.
NichollsM.E.R.BradshawJ.J.MattingleyJ.B. (1999). Free-viewing perceptual asymmetries for the judgement of brightness, numerosity and size. Neuropsychologia, 37, 307–314.
16.
NichollsM.E.R.HughesG.MattingleyJ.B.BradshawJ.L. (2004). Are object- and space-based attentional biases both important to free-viewing perceptual asymmetries?Exp Brain Res, 154, 513–520.
17.
RivaG. (2002). Virtual reality for health care: The status of research. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 5(3), 219–225.
18.
TarrT. J.WarrenW.H. (2002). Virtual reality in behavioral neuroscience and beyond. Nature Neuroscience, 5, 1089–1092.
19.
VarnavaA.McCarthyM.BeaumontJ.G. (2002). Line bisection in normal adults: Direction of attentional bias for near and far space. Neuropsychologia, 40, 1372–1378.
20.
ValvodaJ. T.AssenmacherI.DohleC.KuhlenT.BischofC. H. (2003). NeuroVRAC - A comprehensive approach to virtual reality-based neurological assessment and treatment systems. Studies in Health Technology & Informatics, 94, 370–372.
21.
ValvodaJ. T.AssenmacherI.KuhlenT.BischofC.H. (2004). Reaction-Time Measurement and Real-Time Data Acquisition for Neuroscientific Experiments in Virtual Environments. Studies in Health Technology & Informatics, 98, 391–393.
22.
WeissP.HMarshallJ.C.WunderlichG.TellmannL.HalliganP.W.FreundH.J.ZillesK.FinkG.R. (2000). Neural consequences of acting in near versus far space: A physiological basis for clinical dissociations. Brain, 123, 2531–2541.
23.
WolterM.ArmbruesterC.ValvodaJ.T.KuhlenT. (2007). High Ecological Validity and Accurate Stimulus Control in VR-based Psychological Experiments. In: Proceedings of Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments/Immersive Projection TechnologyWorkshop (EGVE'07).
