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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Comparative assessment of brain activity during depth perception of stereoscopic and volumetric images

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description

Recent advancements in visualization systems have triggered a growing demand for the objective and accurate comparison of user cognitive requirements when perceiving three-dimensional images demonstrated in different ways. In this work, we present the first comparative assessment of brain activity in subjects viewing stereoscopic images and volumetric images. Electroencephalography was employed to assess the short-term changes in event related potentials and neural oscillations which were further interpreted in terms of cognitive requirements for relative depth judgments. As a result, considerably higher activity have been registered in the beta band and gamma band in case of judging relative depth of stereoscopic images in comparison to performing a similar task on the volumetric display. In addition, the higher neural activity in the parietal area and occipital area has been observed in the case of stereoscopic images in the moments which reflect cognitive responses on the depth component of the visual stimulus. We suggest that the greater demands on cognitive load may lead to a faster onset of fatigue in a long-term perspective. Overall, EEG-based assessment of brain activity indicates that the depth extraction from volumetric images requires less cognitive effort in comparison to stereoscopic images.