Évaluation de la charge cognitive et de la performance dans la réalité virtuelle immersive et non immersive : Une étude croisée dans le domaine de l'éducation à la santé Examining Cognitive Load and Performance in Immersive vs. Non-Immersive Virtual Reality: A Cross-Over Study in Health Education

LONJOU, Léa; AUGRAS, Anaïs C.; GROSBOILLOT, Nathan; PERROCHON, Anaïck · 2023 · Crossref

DOI: 10.25965/rse2r.240

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Summary

This study investigates the impact of immersion levels on cognitive load and performance in virtual reality (VR) health education. While VR is widely used for clinical simulations, the specific effects of immersive versus non-immersive environments on cognitive processing remain underexplored. The researchers aimed to compare cognitive load, measured via prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation, and student performance between immersive VR using a head-mounted display (HMD) and non-immersive VR using a laptop. Secondary objectives included evaluating usability, intrinsic motivation, and cybersickness. The experimental cross-over study involved 20 fifth-year physiotherapy students who completed two clinical cases (respiratory and musculoskeletal) presented as 360° videos. Participants experienced both conditions in a randomized order. Cognitive load was assessed using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations in the PFC. Performance was evaluated through multiple-choice questions scored out of 20. Usability, intrinsic motivation, and cybersickness were measured using the System Usability Scale (SUS), Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), respectively. Results indicated no significant difference in performance scores between the HMD (mean 15.6) and laptop (mean 16.1) conditions (p = 0.245). However, fNIRS data revealed significantly higher PFC activation during the laptop condition compared to the HMD condition (p = 0.007), indicating a higher cognitive load for non-immersive VR. Usability was significantly better for the laptop condition (SUS score 91.71 vs. 81.28; p = 0.005), and participants reported fewer cybersickness symptoms with the laptop. Intrinsic motivation scores were similar across both conditions. The findings suggest that immersive VR reduces cognitive load compared to non-immersive VR, likely because head movements facilitate natural spatial exploration, whereas laptop navigation requires manual mouse control, increasing extraneous load. Despite the lower cognitive load in immersive VR, performance remained equivalent, suggesting HMDs are viable for clinical education. However, the higher cybersickness and lower usability ratings for HMDs highlight practical limitations. The study concludes that while immersive VR may ease cognitive processing, non-immersive VR offers superior usability and fewer side effects, with no penalty in learning outcomes.

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• workload measurement