Assess BA10 activity in slide-based and immersive virtual reality prospective memory task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

By using slide-based task in a laboratory setting, previous studies have found that activation of the rostral prefrontal cortex (BA10) is related to prospective memory performance. In this present study, we used immersive virtual reality (VR) technology to measure PM performance in a real-life task in a simulated virtual environment. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used simultaneously to record the rostral prefrontal cortex activities of the subjects. By comparing the data against the ones from the slide-based task, the result suggested that the activation of BA10 in the VR tasks were greater than the one in the slide-based tasks, and the VR tasks have the potential to identify the particular location of BA10 that is connected to the PM performance in our daily lives.