School of Architecture, Kyungpook National University, 80, Daehak-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 19;18(8):4305. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084305.
This study combines electroencephalogram (EEG) with virtual reality (VR) technologies to measure the EEG responses of users experiencing changes to architectural elements. We analyze the ratio of alpha to beta waves (RAB) indicators to determine the pre- and poststimulation changes. In our methodology, thirty-three females experience using private rooms in a postpartum care center participated in the experiment. Their brain waves are measured while they are experiencing the VR space of a private room in a postpartum care center. Three architectural elements (i.e., aspect ratio of space, ceiling height, and window ratio) are varied in the VR space. In addition, a self-report questionnaire is administered to examine whether the responses are consistent with the results of the EEG response analysis. As a result, statistically significant differences ( < 0.05) are observed in the changes in the RAB indicator values of the pre- and poststimulation EEG while the subjects are experiencing the VR space where the architectural elements are varied. That is, the effects of the changes to architectural elements on users' relaxation-arousal responses are statistically verified. Notably, in all the RAB indicator values where significant differences are observed, the poststimulation RAB decreases in comparison to the prestimulus ratios, which is indicative of the arousal response. However, the arousal levels vary across the architectural elements, which implies it would be possible to find out the elements that could induce less arousal response using the proposed method. Moreover, following the experience in the VR space, certain lobes of the brain (F4 and P3 EEG channels) show statistically significant differences in the relaxation-arousal responses. Unlike previous studies, which measured users' physiological responses to abstract and primordial spatial elements, this study extends the boundaries of the literature by applying the architectural elements applicable to design in practice.
本研究结合脑电图（EEG）和虚拟现实（VR）技术，测量用户体验建筑元素变化时的 EEG 反应。我们分析阿尔法波与贝塔波（RAB）的比率指标，以确定刺激前后的变化。在我们的方法中，33 名女性在产后护理中心体验了私人房间，她们的脑电波在体验产后护理中心私人房间的 VR 空间时被测量。三个建筑元素（即空间的长宽比、天花板高度和窗户比例）在 VR 空间中变化。此外，还进行了一份自我报告问卷，以检查反应是否与 EEG 反应分析的结果一致。结果，在被试体验建筑元素变化的 VR 空间时，刺激前后 EEG 的 RAB 指标值的变化有统计学意义（<0.05）。也就是说，建筑元素变化对用户放松-唤醒反应的影响在统计学上得到了验证。值得注意的是，在所有观察到显著差异的 RAB 指标值中，与刺激前比率相比，刺激后 RAB 降低，这表明存在唤醒反应。然而，唤醒水平因建筑元素而异，这意味着可以使用提出的方法找到可能引起较小唤醒反应的元素。此外，在 VR 空间体验之后，大脑的某些叶（F4 和 P3 EEG 通道）在放松-唤醒反应方面表现出统计学上的显著差异。与之前测量用户对抽象和原始空间元素的生理反应的研究不同，本研究通过应用适用于实践设计的建筑元素，扩展了文献的边界。
