Leveraging fNIRS to Evaluate Workload for Adaptive Training in Virtual Reality

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Spencer, Cara A., Wickens, Christopher D., Nicoly, Jalynn B., Crum, James, Clegg, Benjamin A., Lewis, Joanna E., Ortega, Francisco R., Plabst, Lucas, Pharmer, Rebecca L., Hirshfield, Leanne
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Spencer, Cara A.
Wickens, Christopher D.
Nicoly, Jalynn B.
Crum, James
Clegg, Benjamin A.
Lewis, Joanna E.
Ortega, Francisco R.
Plabst, Lucas
Pharmer, Rebecca L.
Hirshfield, Leanne
author_facet Spencer, Cara A.
Wickens, Christopher D.
Nicoly, Jalynn B.
Crum, James
Clegg, Benjamin A.
Lewis, Joanna E.
Ortega, Francisco R.
Plabst, Lucas
Pharmer, Rebecca L.
Hirshfield, Leanne
contents Advance in technology offer the potential for future adoption of a combination of virtual reality (VR) and real-time adaptivity to enhance training and education. Providing a valid neuro-ergonomic measure of cognitive load can enable an adaptive training regime to continuously adjust tas difficulty to an optimal level as training progresses. The current study validated the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measure of cognitive load to reflect the demands of two different forms of lad within Cognitive Load Theory: extraneous and intrinsic to he task to be mastered. Thirty-six participants completed a VR shape assembly training task followed by a test of their skill retention They wore near-full head coverage fNIRS and provided subjective ratings of ther workload. The fNIRS findings largely corroborate intrinsic workload literature with significant activation in cortical regions (dorsolateral and rostral prefrontal cortex and left angular gyrus) associated with working memory, short term memory buffers, multisensory integration, and attention. These fNIRS results were tracked closely by NASA TLS measures of mental workload. The results also revealed far less brain activity associated with extraneous load, namely just the right angular gyrus, deemed irrelevant to the mastery of the task.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_06909
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Leveraging fNIRS to Evaluate Workload for Adaptive Training in Virtual Reality
Spencer, Cara A.
Wickens, Christopher D.
Nicoly, Jalynn B.
Crum, James
Clegg, Benjamin A.
Lewis, Joanna E.
Ortega, Francisco R.
Plabst, Lucas
Pharmer, Rebecca L.
Hirshfield, Leanne
Human-Computer Interaction
Advance in technology offer the potential for future adoption of a combination of virtual reality (VR) and real-time adaptivity to enhance training and education. Providing a valid neuro-ergonomic measure of cognitive load can enable an adaptive training regime to continuously adjust tas difficulty to an optimal level as training progresses. The current study validated the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measure of cognitive load to reflect the demands of two different forms of lad within Cognitive Load Theory: extraneous and intrinsic to he task to be mastered. Thirty-six participants completed a VR shape assembly training task followed by a test of their skill retention They wore near-full head coverage fNIRS and provided subjective ratings of ther workload. The fNIRS findings largely corroborate intrinsic workload literature with significant activation in cortical regions (dorsolateral and rostral prefrontal cortex and left angular gyrus) associated with working memory, short term memory buffers, multisensory integration, and attention. These fNIRS results were tracked closely by NASA TLS measures of mental workload. The results also revealed far less brain activity associated with extraneous load, namely just the right angular gyrus, deemed irrelevant to the mastery of the task.
title Leveraging fNIRS to Evaluate Workload for Adaptive Training in Virtual Reality
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.06909