Physiological and Neurocognitive Responses to Multisensory Food Cues in VR
ConditionHealthy Participants
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorMarmara University
About this trial
This study aims to investigate how food cravings change when visual food cues are enriched with sound, smell, and interactive experiences in a virtual reality (VR) environment. A total of 34 healthy Marmara University students aged 18 and older will participate in the study between November 2025 and March 2026, with a possible extension until September 2026.
Participants will be exposed to real, virtual, and multisensory food cues, and their food craving levels, saliva composition, blood glucose, EEG activity, and body temperature will be measured. Salivary alpha-amylase will be analysed as a biomarker of physiological arousal during food cue exposure.
The study aims to compare how virtual food cues affect food craving and physiological responses compared to real food cues. Findings are expected to contribute to understanding eating behaviour, developing VR-based interventions for healthy nutrition, and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration between nutrition and engineering fields.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Being over 18 years of age.
Individuals with a normal Body Mass Index according to the WHO classification.
No known food allergies or eating disorder diagnoses.
Voluntarily agree to participate in the study and sign an informed consent form.
Disqualifiers
History of any neurological disease (e.g., epilepsy, vertigo) that may prevent the use of virtual reality goggles
Allergy, intolerance, or sensitivity to foods used in the experimental procedure (e.g., chocolate biscuits, pickles)
Significant loss or impairment of vision, hearing, or sense of smell.
Sensitivity to the use of virtual reality devices (e.g. history of cyber sickness such as nausea, dizziness, etc.)
Trial design
Design model
Single group
Treatments tested in this trial
Real food
BehavioralParticipants will be exposed to real foods and their food craving levels, saliva composition, blood glucose, EEG activity, and body temperature will be measured. Salivary alpha-amylase will be analysed as a biomarker of physiological arousal during food cue exposure.
Virtual Reality Food
BehavioralParticipants will be exposed to vitrual foods and their food craving levels, saliva composition, blood glucose, EEG activity, and body temperature will be measured. Salivary alpha-amylase will be analyse
Treatment groups
34 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment groupGroup A: Healthy Volunteer ParticipantsExperimental treatment 2 interventions
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Change in EEG activation patterns in response to food cues
Change in neural activation patterns measured by electroencephalography (EEG) in response to food cues presented in real-world and virtual reality environments. EEG data will be recorded using a 16-channel Brain Products LiveAmp system, assessing event-related potentials (P300, N200) and frequency band power (delta, theta, alpha, beta) across reward- and attention-related cortical regions.
Time frame
Baseline and peri-procedural (during exposure to food cues) within a single study session.2
Food craving questionnaire score
Assesses subjective food craving responses using the Food Cravings Questionnaire-State (FCQ-S). Total scores range from 15 to 75, with higher scores indicating greater momentary food craving intensity.
Time frame
Baseline and immediately after completion of all experimental cue conditions within a single study session.3
Salivary α-amylase concentration (µU/mL)
Salivary alpha-amylase concentration will be measured as an objective indicator of autonomic nervous system activation and physiological arousal in response to food cues presented in real-world and virtual reality environments.
Time frame
Baseline and peri-procedural (during exposure to food cues) within a single study session.Secondary outcomes
1
Salivary flow rate (mL/min)
Salivary flow rate will be assessed as a physiological marker of appetitive and autonomic responses to food cues presented in real-world and virtual reality environments.
Time frame
Baseline and peri-procedural (during exposure to food cues) within a single study session.2
Capillary blood glucose level (mg/dL)
Blood glucose changes will be used to assess metabolic reactivity to real and virtual food cues.
Time frame
Measured pre-exposure and immediately post-exposure for each condition.3
Subjective appetite rating score
Participants will rate their current desire to eat on a 0-100 mm Visual Analog Scale, where 0 = "no desire to eat" and 100 = "extreme desire to eat." Higher scores indicate greater craving intensity in response to food cues.
Time frame
Baseline and immediately after completion of each experimental cue condition within a single study session.4
Body surface temperature (°C)
Body surface temperature will be measured as an indicator of autonomic physiological arousal and thermoregulatory responses during exposure to food cues presented in real-world and virtual reality environments.
Time frame
Baseline, during experimental cue exposure, and immediately post-exposure within a single study session.Sponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov