Does virtual reality training actually change how brains control BCIs?

Ten people trained to control a virtual arm by imagining movement over ten sessions, using either VR headsets or regular screens. The VR group achieved significantly better accuracy (76% correlation vs. 67%), with neural patterns that generalized better to new tasks. Brain scans showed VR engagement produced stronger activity in sensorimotor and parietal regions—patterns matching real movement—suggesting immersive feedback fundamentally reshapes how the brain encodes imagined motion.