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MEGgles: An integrated virtual reality platform for naturalistic neuroimaging with magnetoencephalography

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Dominik Bach^1,2, Sajjad Zabbah², Nicholas Alexander², Yousef Mohammadi², Alberto Mariola², Robert Seymour², Sahitya Puvvada², Gareth Barnes²; ¹University of Bonn, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, ²University College London, Functional Imaging Laboratory, Department of Imaging Neuroscience

Understanding the neural mechanisms that support natural behaviour requires imaging methods that can operate reliably during movement and realistic sensory experiences. Wearable magnetoencephalography (MEG) using optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) provides millisecond temporal and millimetre spatial resolution in freely moving participants. However, integrating OPMs with virtual reality (VR)—a tool for delivering immersive and fully controlled environments—has been constrained by electromagnetic artefacts generated by conventional head-mounted displays (HMDs). Here, we introduce and validate a new OPM-compatible VR platform that enables naturalistic neuroimaging without compromising signal quality. We designed a HMD built from low-noise LCD panels and open-source electronics, achieving magnetic interference levels below those of commercial systems. The device integrates seamlessly with optical motion capture and standard VR development environments (e.g., Unity, Unreal), supporting interactive behavioural paradigms. We validated the system through a combination of hardware-level tests and seven experimental tasks across perceptual and cognitive domains. Our findings demonstrate that the headset introduces negligible magnetic artefacts and preserves source localisation precision. In experimental tests, the system robustly reproduced canonical neural signatures: alpha-band increases with eye closure, lateralised visual responses to flickering checkerboards, beta-band suppression and motor-cortex activation during grasping, and theta oscillations of medial frontal gyrus and hippocampus during N-back and imagination tasks. In sum, our platform enables reliable, whole-brain OPM-MEG recording in immersive VR environments. Its open-source design provides a flexible, scalable foundation for investigating embodied cognition and naturalistic behaviour in human neuroscience.

Topic Area: METHODS: Neuroimaging