## 2 Materials and Methods
### VR Stimulation and Procedure  
This work included the administration of four 360-degree videos, each lasting up to 5 min, delivered through VR. Video administration was performed using the Oculus Quest 2, a standalone virtual reality headset equipped with a high-resolution display (1832 \(\times\) 1920 pixels per eye), a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, and a wide field of view to enhance immersion. The device's lightweight design and built-in tracking system enabled participants to interact with the virtual environment comfortably, without requiring additional external sensors. The videos, which were selected by the team of authors to provide contrasting yet equally immersive and emotionally engaging experiences, included two familiar scenarios and two non-familiar scenarios. The familiar scenarios consisted of relaxing beach landscapes in Sardinia, created using footage from a YouTube video ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6) yAHk_0 sv0Q]([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6) yAHk_0 sv0Q); accessed on 8 July 2024). Given the high presence of coastal environments in this area and the value of their cultural context on local inhabitants, we considered the beach scenarios as \"familiar\". Although the selected VR videos specifically depicted Sardinian beaches, this choice is due to the limited availability of high-quality 360-degree footage of locations in Puglia. Sardinian beaches were nevertheless deemed appropriate as a depiction for familiar landscapes, given their strong visual and cultural resemblance to the coastal environments to which the participants are or were regularly exposed. These videos were looped to depict calm, uninterrupted seaside environments without external interferences or people, aiming to evoke memories of Southern Italian beaches where the participants were born and live. The non-familiar scenarios included a serene park in Japan, sourced from a YouTube video ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uajdWd_n1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uajdWd_n1) lg]([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uajdWd_n1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uajdWd_n1) lg); accessed on 8 July 2024), and a mesmerizing aurora borealis display, sourced from another YouTube video ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg_jfiP4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg_jfiP4) pSQ]([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg_jfiP4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg_jfiP4) pSQ); accessed on 8 July 2024). These videos were paired with corresponding music: traditional Italian folk or melodic pop songs for the familiar scenarios, and non-familiar folk songs for the non-familiar scenario (Figure 2). The selection of the songs was guided by an evaluation process conducted by a group of 4 musicians with expertise in musicology. The evaluation was based on a pool of 30 songs categorized into three groups: Italian lyric songs, Italian folk songs, and foreign compositions. The evaluation process considered several key dimensions for each song. Familiarity was assessed using a 5-point scale, where 1 indicated very low familiarity  
Figure 2: Schematic representation of the experimental paradigm. Participants (n = 7; 1 with moderate and 6 with mild dementia due to AD) engaged in three virtual reality (VR) sessions using an Oculus Quest 2 VR viewer. Each session lasted 5 min and included exposure to two familiar scenarios (e.g., Italian beaches) and one non-familiar scenario (e.g., the aurora borealis or a Japanese park), accompanied by corresponding music. After each session, participants completed questionnaires to evaluate their experiences and emotional responses. (the participant did not know the song at all) and 5 indicated very high familiarity (the participant knew the song well or found it reminiscent of similar genres or melodies). Arousal was also rated on a 5-point scale, with 1 representing very low arousal (the song elicited calmness and relaxation) and 5 representing very high arousal (the song evoked energy and excitement).