Integrating virtual reality, electroencephalography, and transcranial magnetic stimulation to study the neural correlates of awe experiences: The SUBRAIN protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Awe is a complex emotion unveiling a positive and mixed nature, which resembles the Romantic feeling of the Sublime. It has increasingly become the object of scientific investigation in the last twenty years. However, its underlying brain mechanisms are still unclear. To fully capture its nature in the lab, researchers have increasingly relied on virtual reality (VR) as an emotion-elicitation method, which can resemble even complex phenomena in a limited space. In this work, a multidisciplinary team proposed a novel experimental protocol integrating VR, electroencephalography (EEG), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the brain mechanisms of this emotion.

Methods

A group of bioengineers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and philosophers desig

SUBMITTER: Bondi E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11964456 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature