Virtual reality enhances working memory, research suggests

Virtual reality (VR) exercise sessions can significantly improve mood and performance at working memory tasks more than exercise or rest alone, according to new research.

The researchers, all academics at Japanese universities, looked at the impact of VR exercise on executive functioning and its neural correlates using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). They assessed brain activity during an N-back task – a type of game that involves keeping certain things in memory. For example, the subject might have to listen to someone read out a sequence of letters and note when a letter is repeated three steps later. (This particular version is known as “3-back” task.)

The aim was to assess working memory function and determining whether there was an increase in activity in particular brain regions, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The researchers note that previous studies have shown the benefits of physical activity in improving both physical and mental health. Another study has shown that if people listen to their favourite music while exercising, it not only improves their mood, it boosts the ability of the exercise to improve executive function. This gave them the idea of using VR as a condition that might also boost individuals’ mood while exercising – and hence their executive function.

The study recruited 23 Japanese students, who underwent a graded exercise test to measure their peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and practised the N-back task three times before engaging in the main experimental conditions.

Three experimental conditions were used: using an exercise bike without head-mounted display, using an exercise bike with head-mounted display (VR), or rest without head-mounted display. Those wearing the VR headset saw the Holofit environment, which gave the illusion of cycling through Paris.

Working memory improved during VR exercise

The N-back task, assessing working memory function, was performed before and after 10-minute fMRI exercise sessions. The task required participants to monitor a continuous colour flow of single squares and respond when they saw a square with an identical colour to the one they’d seen three squares earlier.

All participants were able to complete the tasks without facing any adverse effects.

The researchers measured physiological parameters, such as heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). HR and RPE were significantly higher in the exercise and VR conditions than in the rest conditions.

More interestingly, psychological mood states, including vitality and arousal, were significantly higher in the VR condition compared to the rest and exercise conditions. Working memory performance, assessed using the N-Back task, showed reduced reaction times after exercise, particularly in VR.

Brain activity revealed activation in several regions during the 3-back task, with overlaps between exercise and VR conditions.

“This study demonstrates that VR exercise improves mood and working memory function,” the authors write. “Although the precise neural mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear, our findings suggest that an enhanced state of high arousal and pleasure mood is crucial for improving working memory function, with VR being a potent motor factor in achieving this condition.”

However, they found no direct correlation between working memory enhancement and changes in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

They recommend that future research should explore individual differences, extend findings to diverse populations, and investigate the long-term effects of VR exercise. They add that it is essential to check whether the effects can be reproduced in distinct populations such as children and older adults.