Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 17, 2025
Virtual Reality Experiments with Physiological Measures
Published on: August 29, 2018
Response Inhibition and Working Memory in Virtual Reality: Behavioral and Event-Related Potential Effects of Stress
Leandro M Ledesma1, Matthew T Hyland1, Lisa K Chinn1
1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, United States.
Introduction:
Military personnel encounter stress, including intense physical exertion and sleep deprivation. Understanding the effects of stress on cognition and brain activity could inform future training and job placement strategies in the military. This study examined cognitive performance and neurophysiological responses under different stress conditions in individuals engaged in Reserve Officers' Training Corps and/or other military training.
Materials And Methods:
Participants (n = 24; 10 women; 18-35 years of age) completed a response inhibition and working memory task in virtual reality at baseline, after intense physical exercise, and during sleep deprivation on three separate testing days. The Go/No-Go task assessed response inhibition by requiring participants to withhold responses to infrequent No-Go targets, while the 2-Back task tested working memory by asking participants to respond to shapes matching those seen two trials prior. Electroencephalography was recorded during both tasks under all conditions.
Results:
Behavioral results showed that sleep deprivation negatively affected inhibitory control in the Go/No-Go task but had no effect on working memory in the 2-Back task. Exercise led to poorer accuracy on Go trials for both sexes but improved 2-Back performance for women. Notably, women exhibited faster reaction times on correct Go trials after exercise, whereas men's reaction times remained stable across stress conditions. P300 event-related potential amplitudes seemed to mirror observed behavioral performance, showing reductions with sleep deprivation in the Go/No-Go task. For the 2-Back, P300 amplitudes decreased post-exercise compared to baseline and were similar between baseline and sleep deprivation.
Conclusion:
The results demonstrate that acute intense physical exercise and sleep deprivation have distinct effects on cognitive performance and associated P300 signals. Sleep deprivation negatively affected response inhibition, while intense exercise enhanced working memory performance, particularly in women. Changes in P300 amplitudes suggested reduced attentional processing during the Go/No-Go task under sleep deprivation and possible neural efficiency in the 2-Back task following exercise. These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing training and operational readiness in high-stress military environments.
