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
Qualifiers
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
Treatments tested in this trial
- Real food
- Virtual Reality Food
Treatment groups
34 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment groupSponsors and collaborators
Source ClinicalTrials.gov