Schedule of Events | Symposia

VR-fMRI reveals greater amygdala activity and fear responses with 3D compared to 2D presentation of fearful movies

Poster Session D - Monday, March 31, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Misako Fujino^1,2 (fujino766@gmail.com), Atsushi Wada^2,1, Masahiko Haruno^2,1; ¹Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, ²National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

Previous behavioral studies using VR have suggested that an immersive 3D environment can enhance fear responses; however, the neural basis of this effect has remained unclear due to limitations of conventional fMRI display setups. We developed a 3D VR-fMRI display with a 90-degree field of view, exceeding the standard 20-degrees, and presented phobia-related videos in 3D and 2D. These videos featured various stimuli, including snakes, spiders, and aggressive humans, each appearing to approach the viewer at close range. While in the fMRI scanner, participants (n=17) watched these videos for six seconds, and rated their arousal, valence, and fear levels. Participants completed 80 trials, alternating between 3D and 2D conditions every 10 trials. One subject with consistently low subjective fear levels was excluded from the analysis. The subjective fear levels were significantly higher for the 3D condition compared to the 2D condition (paired t-test, t(15) = 2.10, p = 0.026). The group-level fMRI analysis revealed that fearful movies (including 3D and 2D) significantly increased activity in the amygdala. Additionally, 3D conditions elicited higher activation in the higher visual areas, the amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, and anterior cingulate cortex compared to the 2D condition. Notably, most participants did not consciously notice the difference between 3D and 2D videos, yet the 3D videos consistently induced stronger fear responses. Our findings reveal the brain regions activated by 3D stereoscopic vision compared to 2D vision and highlight our innovative method that enables more naturalistic and immersive emotional experiences within the fMRI environment.

Topic Area: EMOTION & SOCIAL: Emotion-cognition interactions