Stroke rehabilitation suffers from low levels of patient engagement, impeding recovery. Virtual rehabilitation (VR) approaches can improve patient outcomes; however, there is limited understanding of the participant’s user experience and the field lacks a validated, objective measure of VR engagement. A neurophysiological measure of engagement in healthy adults was therefore examined, to inform future clinical studies. Twenty-four participants (M_age 26.7 years, range 18–47) interacted with a tabletop VR system (Elements DNA, or EDNA), after which they rated their experience on the presence questionnaire (PQ). Separately, participants completed tasks eliciting low (resting eyes-open and -closed) and high (EDNA VR and roller coaster simulation) levels of engagement while continuous electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from a single, left pre-frontal electrode. EEG differences between the resting and simulation conditions included an increase in theta power (p < 0.01) and a decrease in alpha power (p < 0.01). Importantly, theta power in simulation conditions correlated with PQ scores expressing the hands-on EDNA VR experience (r_s = 0.38–0.48). In conclusion, the current results provide proof of concept that increased frontal theta power in healthy adults provides a valid measure of user engagement in VR simulation and participation. As the practical potential of VR is increasingly realised in stroke rehabilitation, objective EEG-based measures of engagement may provide a convenient and sensitive technique to assist in evaluating these interventions.

中风康复的患者参与程度低，阻碍了康复。虚拟康复（VR）方法可以改善患者的预后。但是，对参与者的用户体验的了解有限，并且该领域缺乏经过验证的客观的VR参与度。因此，对健康成年人参与的神经生理学指标进行了检查，以为将来的临床研究提供参考。二十四参与者（中号_年龄与桌面虚拟现实系统（互动26.7年，范围18-47）元素的DNA，或EDNA），之后，他们评价他们的存在问卷（PQ）的经验。另外，参加者完成任务引发低（休息眼睛开和-封闭）和高（EDNA VR和过山车模拟）的参与水平，同时从单个左前额叶电极记录连续脑电图（EEG）。静息和模拟条件之间的脑电图差异包括theta功率的增加（p  <0.01）和alpha功率的减小（p  <0.01）。重要的是，在THETA功率模拟与PQ分数表达动手EDNA VR经验相关条件（[R_小号 = 0.38–0.48）。总而言之，当前结果提供了概念证明，即健康成年人的额叶theta功率增加可有效衡量用户参与VR模拟和参与的程度。随着VR在卒中康复中的潜在应用越来越多，基于客观的基于EEG的参与测量可能会提供一种方便而敏感的技术来帮助评估这些干预措施。