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Using Extended Reality to Study the Experience of Presence
Keisuke Suzuki1,2, Alberto Mariola3,4,5, David J Schwartzman3,4
1Center for Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience (CHAIN), Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. ksk@chain.hokudai.ac.jp.
Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences
|January 2, 2023
Summary
Extended reality (XR) research explores the sense of presence, a subjective feeling of reality within virtual environments. New XR methods like Substitutional Reality offer novel ways to study consciousness and reality perception.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Extended reality (XR), including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), is a key tool in consciousness research.
- A strong sense of presence, or the subjective reality of self and environment, is crucial for effective XR experiences.
- While XR has identified factors influencing presence, its phenomenology and neurocognitive underpinnings require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the concept of presence in XR and its relation to maintaining a stable sense of reality.
- To explore the phenomenological characteristics of presence and its disturbances.
- To investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms of presence, including 'objecthood' and 'conviction about reality'.
Main Methods:
- Review of XR research on presence, including influencing factors and measurement techniques.
- Analysis of clinical examples of disturbed presence.
- Description of two XR experiments on sensorimotor contingency and affordances affecting 'objecthood'.
- Exploration of 'Substitutional Reality' as a novel experimental method.
Main Results:
- Presence is a complex phenomenon influenced by factors like sensorimotor contingency and affordances.
- XR experiments provide insights into 'objecthood' and 'conviction about reality'.
- 'Substitutional Reality' opens new avenues for studying presence beyond simulated environments.
Conclusions:
- Understanding presence in XR is vital for advancing consciousness research.
- XR methodologies, particularly 'Substitutional Reality', offer powerful tools for investigating the nature of reality perception.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the neurocognitive basis of presence and conviction about reality.
