ANALYSIS OF CORTICAL ACTIVATION DURING MOTOR TASK CARRIED OUT IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY AMONG GENDER.
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, EEG, Physiotherapy.
Introduction: Although there are many similarities in brain structure and function in healthy men and women, there are important differences that distinguish the male brain from the female brain, leading to distinct neuroelectric brain responses. Nowadays, one of the techniques that has allowed the monitoring of the brain in activity is the electroencephalography, from non-invasive interfaces and wireless. Thereby, it becomes possible to understand the process of brain activation in a motor task based on virtual reality, which is a therapeutic resource increasingly used. Objective: To investigate the influence of a motor task performed in a virtual environment on the brain activity of healthy young men and women. Methodology: This is a comparative study, involving 30 individuals who were divided into two groups: female (A) and male (B). After undergoing a physical therapy assessment and cognitive status, through the Mini Mental State Examination, they were submitted to a session (20 minutes) of balance training in virtual reality (VR) during which the electroencephalic activity was recorded by Emotiv Epoc for evaluation of cortical activity. Finally, they were asked about their experience with VR. Results: Analyzing the behavior of the graphs of the preliminary results, although the sample showed a large standard deviation, it was observed that the averages of the activation potential in the Alpha frequency are similar when compared to the two groups, whereas in the Beta frequency these averages distances, so that the group of women present a greater activation potential of this wave. This behavior seemed to be repeated in all analyzed games and channels.