Neuropsychological Effects of Green vs. Urban Virtual Scenery while Neuro-exergaming with iPACES

Literature on greenspace suggests that immersing oneself in virtual natural environments, compared to those featuring urban scenery, has a more positive impact on the human psyche, promoting psychological well-being, stress recovery, and enhanced concentration and cognitive function (Lee et al., 2022; Ulrich, 1981). Recent studies have explored the rehabilitative effects of virtual greenspace in combination with other interventions, such as cycling. For example, Wang et al. (2020) found that virtual nature cycling elicited stress relief in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. The current study builds on this research by investigating how virtual pedaling in a green environment vs urban one affects cognition. It is hypothesized that executive function (the cognitive processes that control and regulate behavior), will show greater improvement after pedaling in a green virtual environment compared to an urban one. To test our hypothesis, we utilized an interactive physical and cognitive exercise system (iPACES) and randomly assigned participants to pedal-n-play through a virtual bike tour in either an urban (Neighborhood theme) or green environment (New York Park theme) for 20 minutes. Executive function was assessed before and after pedaling sessions via neuropsychological measures, such as e-Stroop, Digit Span, and Paper Stroop tests. Additionally, participants' mood and immersion levels were recorded using the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory and a shortened version of the Flow Scale. The preliminary analysis of 25 participants indicated there was no significant difference between the two conditions on executive functioning (on t-tests of pStroopC and Digits Backwards change scores). The observed divergence in Backward Digit Span and Paper Stroop scores could indicate that these tests measured different aspects of executive function: Digit Span assessing working memory and Paper Stroop - cognitive inhibition. Whether this outcome is due to no effect or due to the small sample size remains unclear. Factors such as age and heart rate also may be necessary to control for. Once data collection is complete, more advanced statistical analyses will be conducted to account for these variables.