RecruitingACTRN12624001227583

How does built environment scale affect cognitive performance and neurophysiological measures in healthy adults?

A counter-balanced within-subjects study examining built environment scale on cognitive performance and neurophysiological measures in healthy adults

Sponsor

University of South Australia

Enrollment

55 participants

Start Date

Jun 16, 2025

Study Type

Interventional

Conditions

cognitive abilities (optimising working memory and facial emotion recognition performance)

Summary

We spend an increasing amount of time within buildings yet have limited understanding of how the design of interior built environments affect our brain functioning and behaviour. Studies in a controlled laboratory setting using virtual reality have recently shown that enlarged room scale affects brain activity which has been associated with concentration and performance. Although promising that we may be able to optimise cognitive functioning through building design, it is important we understand if the computer-generated modelling and virtual reality presentation of a room elicits the same effect as physically constructed and experienced rooms. In this study, adults (aged 18-40, N=55) will be exposed to two rooms, where they will complete computerised cognitive tasks while neurophysiological measures are recorded. Mixed model analyses will be used to compare the measures between the two rooms. Overall, it is intended this study will help us understand if we can optimise the spaces we inhabit to support our cognitive performance.

Eligibility

Sex: Both males and femalesMin Age: 18 YearssMax Age: 40 Yearss

Plain Language Summary

Simplified for easier understanding

We spend most of our waking lives inside buildings, but very little research has looked at how the design and scale of indoor spaces affects our ability to think and concentrate. This study explores whether the size of a room — specifically whether the ceiling height is normal or enlarged — influences brain activity and performance on cognitive tasks. Prior laboratory research using virtual reality has suggested that room scale does matter; this study tests whether the same effect occurs in real physical spaces. Healthy adults will spend time in two differently sized rooms and complete computerised thinking tasks while having their brain activity measured using EEG (a painless method of recording electrical signals from the scalp). The results from each room will be compared. You may be eligible if you are 18 to 40 years old, have normal or corrected-to-normal vision, can read and understand English, and have no diagnosed psychiatric or neurological conditions requiring medication treatment. People with professional training in building or environmental design are not eligible, as prior knowledge of these effects could influence the results. This study could eventually inform how schools, offices, and healthcare spaces are designed to support human performance.

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Interventions

This study will assess how exposure to different physical room sizes affect cognitive performance and neurophysiological measures across an adult population. The aim is to better understand how the dimensions of interior rooms affect participants by constructing physical spaces, to replicate previously computer-modelled rooms which participants had been exposed to through a virtual reality study. Please note the 'rooms' constructed will not be fully enclosed (no back wall, enabling direct observation of the participant) and no ceiling (for safety). This physical configuration will match the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment setup of the previous study. Our 'intervention' or 'condition' in this study is an 'enlarged' room with two side walls (4.5m length by 3.6m height) and a participant front-facing wall 3.6m length by 3.6m height). The walls will be constructed using structural pine, and finished with medium density fiberboard (MDF), painted white. The room consists of the three walls, a door-frame positioned in the center of the participant facing wall (height cue), and a wooden chair positioned in the right-hand corner of the room. A desk and chair will be positioned in the center of the constructed space for participants to complete cognitive tasks. Each participant will be exposed to both the control and enlarged room (order randomized), where they will complete a social orientated task (facial emotion recognition) and executive functioning (working memory) task. They will be in each room for approximately 30-minutes, with a 5-minute wash-out period between where they will be invited to stand up, and take a short assisted walk with the researcher to the second room before being re-seated. Adherence during the computerised tasks will be monitored through the supervising researcher who will be observing the participant (standing outside of the room facing the participants back).

Locations(1)

SA, Australia

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ACTRN12624001227583