AUTHOR=Hayati Ashkan F. , Barde Amit , Gumilar Ihshan , Momin Abdul , Lee Gun , Chatburn Alex , Billinghurst Mark 

TITLE=Inter-brain synchrony in real-world and virtual reality search tasks using EEG hyperscanning

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Virtual Reality

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/virtual-reality/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1469105

DOI=10.3389/frvir.2025.1469105

ISSN=2673-4192

ABSTRACT=This study investigates inter-brain synchronization during a collaborative visual search task performed in Virtual Reality (VR), and compares it to the same task executed in a real-world environment. Previous research has demonstrated that collaborative visual search in real-world settings leads to measurable neural synchrony, as captured through EEG hyperscanning. However, limited work has explored whether similar neural dynamics occur in immersive VR. In this study, we recorded EEG hyperscanning data from participant pairs engaged in a joint visual search task, conducted in both VR and physical settings. Our results reveal that inter-brain synchronization occurred in the VR condition at levels comparable to the real world. Furthermore, greater neural synchrony was positively correlated with better task performance across both conditions. These findings demonstrate that VR is a viable platform for studying inter-brain dynamics in collaborative tasks, and support its use for future team-based neuroscience research in simulated environments.