EEG Microstate Dynamics During Immersive VR Earthquake Exposure: Signatures of Threat Reactivity, Recovery, and Resilience

Adapting to natural disasters requires rapid and flexible regulation of emotional and physiological responses, yet the large-scale brain dynamics supporting this process remain poorly understood. Using an immersive virtual reality (VR) earthquake simulation, we investigated real-time neural adaptation to acute environmental threat and its modulation by resilience. Seventy-six participants were randomly assigned to a VR earthquake condition (VR-ES, n = 38) or a control VR condition (VR-CTRL, n = 38). Resting-state EEG was recorded before and after the VR experience, and continuous mobile EEG was recorded during the simulation. EEG microstate analysis was used to characterize large-scale brain dynamics associated with threat exposure and recovery. Exposure to the simulated disaster induced distinct alterations in microstate dynamics, with opposing changes in microstates C (p<0.001, rb=0.55) and D (p<0.001, rb=0.52) observed specifically in the VR-ES group. Moreover, our results confirm that distinct neural patterns are activated during the recovery resting-state phase following VR-ES. Critically, resilience and childhood adversity moderated the patterns of associations with emotional recovery, such that individuals with higher resilience exhibited more adaptive microstate configurations associated with improved recovery outcomes. These findings suggest that flexible reorganization of large-scale brain states supports adaptation to acute environmental stress and that resilience shapes the neural dynamics underlying recovery. This work highlights the value of ecologically valid VR paradigms combined with mobile neurophysiology for understanding individual differences in responses to environmental threat and their adaptive neural mechanisms.