Integrating Cardiac Cycle Phases into Event Related Potential Analysis: A Protocol for Two-Dimensional and Virtual...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Physiology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• The heartbeat influences neural processes and event-related potentials (ERPs).
• Virtual reality (VR) presents challenges for electrophysiological recording, including motion artifacts and latency, potentially impacting data quality.
• Standard electroencephalography (EEG) preprocessing can be inefficient with VR data, leading to significant data loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a detailed protocol for simultaneous EEG and electrocardiography (ECG) recording.
• To investigate heart-brain interactions in both VR and 2D environments.
• To assess the impact of cardiac modulation on cognitive processes across different immersion levels.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous EEG and ECG recording.
• Precise alignment of stimuli with cardiac signals (systole/diastole).
• Correction for VR-induced latency and extended artifact management.

Main Results:

• A robust suppression of visual ERP amplitude was observed during cardiac systole.
• This suppressive effect was consistent across both VR and 2D environments.
• The developed protocol demonstrated efficacy in capturing heart-brain interactions.

Conclusions:

• The heart-brain interaction, specifically ERP suppression during systole, is resilient to immersion level changes.
• The presented protocol provides a standardized framework for studying cardiac influence on cognition.
• The method is adaptable for various visual presentation techniques, including VR.