First Probe into Frontal EEG Dynamic Cross-Entropy associated with Virtual Sexual Content

Abstract

This study investigates the brain's response to virtual sexual content using EEG dynamic cross-entropy and physiological measures of arousal. It aims to elucidate the neural underpinnings of “sexual presence”—a state of arousal influenced by personal predispositions and technological affordances. The research integrates concepts of sexual affordances within embodied cognitive processes, suggesting that the brain optimizes responses to minimize free energy when processing sexual cues. The findings show that sexual avatars trigger specific arousal and attention, evidenced by physiological arousal responses. Notably, frontal cross-entropy in the low alpha band decreased during exposure to sexual content, suggesting a more streamlined frontal information transfer during arousal. The results contribute to understanding how virtual environments can induce sexual presence, indicating that sexual affordances in virtual settings significantly influence cognitive engagement and neural efficiency. The study's outcomes have implications in the understanding of human-machine interactions with virtual content mobilizing sexual cognition.

Keywords: Sexual Presence, Virtual Reality, Immersion, Brain Entropy, Electroencephalography, Eye Tracking

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004474