Our paper on VR-guided meditation and its effects on electroencephalograph (EEG) activity is now published and available to be viewed online at JMIR Biomedical Engineering journal.
A summary of what the purpose of this part of the research was summarized in an earlier blog post. Thanks again to Dr. Teresa Cheung and Henry Fu from the SFU School of Engineering Sciences for partnering with us on this research.
The link to the paper is here: https://biomedeng.jmir.org/2021/2/e26332
Key Takeaways:
- Findings suggest that distinct altered neurophysiological brain signals are detectable during VR-guided meditation, predominantly in terms of an increase in the power of the β and γ bands.
- Changes in the α and θ bands were also identified, predominantly as a pattern in VR-guided meditation compared with the resting baseline, possibly reflecting the specific impact of visual activity during VR-guided meditation.
- Some changes in coherence were also observed between the frontal and parietal and occipital cortices during VR-guided meditation. No significant association between pain scores and changes in EEG signals was observed.
- Although this is an exploratory study, the results of this work clearly demonstrate the feasibility of EEG recording and subsequent data processing and analysis during VR experiences in patients using modern VR head-mounted displays.
Please feel free to click the link above and happy reading!
I didn’t expect this, but the mix of VR and guided calm really makes sense here, because when pain is always there even small mental shifts can help, and the EEG part shows this is not just a “nice feeling” idea but something real in the brain; I saw a similar soft focus effect in social play spaces like SweepStars , where simple scenes help the mind stay busy and relaxed, and while the goal is different, the feeling is close, less stress and a bit more control, so if this method can give even short calm moments to people with chronic pain, that already matters a lot.
I’ve been reading about VR-guided meditation for cancer pain, and it’s interesting how tech can support real healing, not just theory. I came across ANTHOSPHERE while exploring similar ideas, and it feels different because it connects science, wellbeing, and environment in a simple, usable way. It doesn’t overload you, just gives clear insights you can actually reflect on.