Exploring the Neural Mechanisms of Social Interaction: Unveiling New Insights through Virtual Reality, Eye Tracking, and fNIRS 

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation that immerses users in an interactive three-dimensional environment, making it ideal for mimicking social environments. In fact, researchers are using VR to train social skills for individuals with social communication. However, the extent to which VR elicits comparable neural activity to real-life scenarios remains unknown. Moreover, how eye gaze patterns and neural activity would differ in different social tasks in VR is poorly understood. To address these gaps, we propose a study paradigm aiming to 1) Compare eye gaze patterns and neural activity during virtual and real-life social interactions; and 2) Investigate the eye gaze patterns and neural activity associated with different types of social interactions. In the current pilot study, we will recruit 5 healthy adults with varying social communication levels). Eye-tracking and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will be used to record eye movements and neural activity during six conditions, including passive observation, active interaction, and imitation in VR and real-life. During passive observation, the participants will observe two individuals interacting with each other (e.g., greeting); during active interactions, the participants will interact with another individual; while in imitation, the participants will imitate an individual’s movements (e.g., communicative gestures). We hypothesize that eye gaze patterns and neural activity would be similar between VR and real-life environments during active interactions and imitations, but not passive observation. In both VR and real-life environments, individuals will have different eye gaze patterns and greater neural activity over social regions (e.g., superior temporal sulcus) during imitation and active interaction, compared to passive observation. By investigating the validity and feasibility of using VR, eye-tracking, and fNIRS to study social interactions, this study intends to yield novel insights into the neural mechanisms underlying social interaction.