Body and brain responses to multisensory food cues in virtual reality

Investigation of Physiological and Neurocognitive Responses to Multisensory Food Cues in an Virtual Reality Environment

This project will see if adding sound, smell, and interactive elements to virtual reality food scenes changes cravings and physiological and brain responses in healthy Marmara University students aged 18 and older.

Quick facts

• Phase: Not applicable
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 34 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Marmara University (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Istanbul, Maltepe)
• Trial ID: NCT07320209 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The study will expose 34 healthy university students to real food, visual-only virtual food, and multisensory virtual reality food cues while measuring self-reported craving and objective markers including salivary composition (alpha-amylase), blood glucose, EEG activity, and body temperature. Sessions compare responses across real, virtual, and enriched multisensory VR conditions to determine how sensory enrichment alters craving and physiological arousal. Researchers will use these combined subjective and biological measures to identify whether multisensory VR produces stronger or different responses than real or visual-only cues. The planned recruitment and data collection run from November 2025 to March 2026 with a possible extension to September 2026.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal participants are healthy adults aged 18 or older with a normal BMI, no food allergies or eating disorder diagnoses, and who can tolerate virtual reality and EEG procedures.

Not a fit: People with eating disorders, neurological conditions, significant sensory impairments, sensitivity to VR (cybersickness), or those taking psychiatric medications are unlikely to benefit from participation.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help design VR-based tools to regulate food cravings and support healthier eating behaviors.

How similar studies have performed: Past research shows real-world food cues reliably trigger cravings and smaller VR studies have elicited similar subjective responses, but comprehensive multisensory VR experiments with physiological and EEG measures remain relatively novel.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* 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.
* Be physically and psychologically suitable for virtual reality environment and electroencephalography (EEG) recording applications.

Exclusion Criteria:

* 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.)
* Use of psychiatric medication, antidepressants, neuroleptics, or medication that may affect neurological status
* History of psychological conditions that may affect the working process, such as attention deficit, anxiety disorder, or panic attacks.
* Any discomfort in the salivary glands, insufficient saliva production, or dry mouth.
* Consumption of more than 21 units of alcohol per week (as this may affect food cravings and physiological parameters).
* History or diagnosis of abnormal brain electrical activity that may affect EEG measurements.
* History of substance dependence or any mental disorder that may affect cortical activity.
* Conditions that prevent body composition analysis (BIA) measurements (e.g. use of a pacemaker, limb amputation, lymphoedema, etc.).
* The presence of any language or cognitive barrier that prevents communication.

Where this trial is running

Istanbul, Maltepe

• Marmara University, Faculty of Health Sciences — Istanbul, Maltepe, Turkey (Türkiye) (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Zehra M Çelik, PhD

Conditions Healthy Participants; Food cue; human-computer interaction; food craving; salivary composition; EEG