Shared attention effects on learning and memory demonstrate that experiences are amplified when we are not alone. Virtual reality poses new challenges to the study of co-presence. Above all, is coattending together with someone else’s avatar in an immersive VR setting comparable with shared experiences at a neural processing level? In the present study we investigate shared attention effects in VR for the first time. We recorded mismatch negativities (MMN) during an auditory roving paradigm, a well-known index of implicit perceptual learning. EEG responses to deviant and standard sounds were registered while subjects were alone (Solo condition) or together (Other condition) with a virtual avatar (Virtual scenario) or physically present confederate (Physical scenario). We found an overall main effect of co-presence on MMN revealed by a point-by-point 2 × 2 ANOVA, thereby replicating previous studies on physical co-presence. Additionally, we found no significant interaction between the scenario (Physical vs. Virtual) and co-presence (Solo vs. Other). Our results indicate that virtual immersive co-presence mimics physical co-presence.
CITATION STYLE
Sarasso, P., Ronga, I., Piovesan, F., Barbieri, P., Del Fante, E., De Luca, D., … Sacco, K. (2024). Shared attention in virtual immersive reality enhances electrophysiological correlates of implicit sensory learning. Scientific Reports, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-53937-w
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