EEG correlates of unsupervised spatial learning in immersive, large-scale virtual environments

Using a novel, fully-mobile virtual reality paradigm, we investigated the EEG correlates of spatial representations formed during unsupervised exploration. During a test phase, 24-hours after initial exploration, when subjects perceived an object that was incongruent with their spatial expectations we found a decreased negativity peaking at 170ms with scalp topography consistent with generation in the medial parietal cortex. There also was an increased positivity starting at 540ms to these incongruent objects, with scalp topography consistent with generation in inferior temporal cortex. These findings point to neural markers of situational awareness in a naturalistic environment.