Search Results (3)

Virtual reality (VR) technology has gained popularity across various fields; however, its use often induces cybersickness, characterized by symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and eye strain. This study investigated the differences in cybersickness levels and head movement patterns under three distinct VR viewing conditions: dynamic VR (DVR), static VR (SVR), and a control condition (CON) using a simulator. Thirty healthy adults participated, and their head movements were recorded using the Meta Quest 2 VR headset and analyzed using Python. The Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire (VRSQ) assessed subjective cybersickness levels. The results revealed that the SVR condition induced the highest VRSQ scores (M = 58.057), indicating the most severe cybersickness symptoms, while the DVR condition elicited significantly higher values in head movement variables, particularly in the coefficient of variation (CV) and integral values of head position along the vertical axis, and mean velocity (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that VR content characteristics directly influence users’ head movement patterns, closely related to cybersickness occurrence and severity. This study highlights the importance of analyzing head movement patterns in cybersickness research and provides insights for VR content design. Full article

Background: DFNA9 is a genetic disease of the inner ear, causing progressive bilateral sensorineural deafness and bilateral vestibulopathy (BV). In this study, DizzyQuest, a mobile vestibular diary, and the MOX accelerometer were combined to assess the daily life functional limitations and physical activity of patients with DFNA9 suffering from BV. These parameters might be appropriate as potential candidacy criteria and outcome measures for new therapeutic interventions for BV. Methods: Fifteen DFNA9 patients with BV and twelve age-matched healthy controls were included. The DizzyQuest was applied for six consecutive days, which assessed the participants’ extent of functional limitations, tiredness, types of activities performed during the day, and type of activity during which the participant felt most limited. The MOX accelerometer was worn during the same six days of DizzyQuest use, measuring the participants intensity and type of physical activity. Mixed-effects linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to compare the DFNA9 patients and control group. Results: DFNA9 patients with BV felt significantly more limited in activities during the day compared to the age-matched controls, especially in social participation (p < 0.005). However, these reported limitations did not cause adjustment in the types of activities and did not reduce the intensity or type of physical activity measured with accelerometry. In addition, no relationships were found between self-reported functional limitations and physical activity. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that self-reported functional limitations are significantly higher among DFNA9 patients with BV. As a result, these limitations might be considered as part of the candidacy criteria or outcome measures for therapeutic interventions. In addition, the intensity or type of physical activity performed during the day need to be addressed more specifically in future research. Full article

Social cognition is fundamental in everyday life to understand “others’ behavior”, which is a key feature of social abilities. Previous studies demonstrated the efficacy of a rehabilitative intervention in semi-immersive virtual reality (VR) controlled by whole-body motion to improve the ability of patients with cerebellar disorders to predict others’ intentions (VR-SPIRIT). Patients with severe ataxia that have difficulties at multiple levels of social processing could benefit from this intervention in terms of improving their social prediction skills, but they may have difficulties in controlling VR with whole-body movements. Therefore, we implemented VR-SPIRIT on a wearable, affordable, and easy-to-use technology, such as the Oculus Quest, a head-mounted display. The aim of this work was to evaluate the usability and tolerability of this VR application. We recruited 10 patients (37.7 ± 14.8 years old, seven males) with different types of hereditary ataxia who performed a single VR-SPIRIT session using the Oculus Quest viewer. After the session, patients answered a series of questionnaires to investigate the overall usability of the system and its potential effects in terms of cyber sickness. The preliminary results demonstrated system usability and tolerability. Indeed, only three patients did not complete the session due to different problems (dizziness, nausea, and boredom). In future studies, more patients will be enrolled to assess the effectiveness of the application, paving the way for the implementation of social training that can also be delivered at home. Full article