EEG-Based Cognitive Load Classification During Landmark-Based VR Navigation

Abstract: Brain computer interfaces enable real-time monitoring of cognitive load, but their effectiveness in dynamic navigation contexts is not well established. Using an existing VR navigation dataset, we examined whether EEG signals can classify cognitive load during map-based wayfinding and whether classification accuracy depends more on task complexity or on individual traits. EEG recordings from forty-six participants navigating routes with 3, 5, or 7 map landmarks were analyzed with a nested cross-validation framework across multiple machine learning models. Classification achieved mean accuracies up to 90.8% for binary contrasts (3 vs. 7 landmarks) and 78.7% for the three-class problem, both well above chance. Demographic and cognitive variables (age, gender, spatial ability, working memory) showed no significant influence. These findings demonstrate that task demands outweigh individual differences in shaping classification performance, highlighting the potential for task-adaptive navigation systems that dynamically adjust map complexity in response to real-time cognitive states.