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Cybersickness in Different Multisensory Conditions in Virtual Reality

Analysis of Cortical Activity in Individuals With Cybersickness Under the Influence of Multi-sensory Conditions in Virtual Reality: a Randomized Crossover Study

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05534880
Enrollment
10
Registered
2022-09-10
Start date
2022-11-08
Completion date
2023-07-09
Last updated
2023-11-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cybersickness, Reduced Sensation

Keywords

cybersickness, virtual reality, binaural beats, electroencephalography

Brief summary

Cybersickness (CS) is characterized as a type of visually induced motion sickness, similar to traditional motion sickness, with specific clinical presentations such as dizziness, eyestrain, oculomotor disorders, blurred vision and spatial disorientation. It can be triggered when experiencing virtual reality (VR), and it affects approximately 20% to 80% of individuals who use these resources. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms of CS are not fully understood and the use of virtual environments that have become increasingly recurrent in several sectors deserves attention, as VR is becoming commonplace in methods and techniques of assessment, diagnosis and treatment. Objective: to analyze cortical electrophysiological activity using electroencephalography (EEG) in individuals with SC, under the influence of different audiovisual conditions. Methodology: The study is a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial, the sample for survey satisfaction N= 10 participants, the public were university students from the Universidade Federal do Delta Parnaíba (UFDPar) of both sexes, aged between 18 to 28 years, those who agreed, underwent screening, those who met the criteria and fit, were randomized and allocated to one each of 02 conditions, (C1 - video only) and (C2 - associated with binaural audio), three times in each condition, with a duration of 10 minutes of immersion, with evaluation (pre) before (post) with QEEG and Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), exposure to virtual content was on regular alternate days, with a 24-hour interval between each virtual exposure, at the end of each condition, there will be a 14-day washout and crossover between the conditions. The study will be carried out under all cleaning and prevention care in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, data collection will be at the Brain Mapping and Functionality Laboratory (LAMCEF) of the Federal University of Delta do Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil. Results: The condition with binaural stimulation is expected to promote neuromodulation and reduction of CS symptoms, compared to the control condition.

Detailed description

Objectives General Objective • Analyze whether the electrophysiological activity of the brain cortex of individuals with cybersickness undergoes neuromodulation through binaural stimuli; Specific Objectives * Investigate whether stimulation by binaural beats can mitigate the degree of symptoms through the SSQ; * Compare whether there is a significant reduction in Sickness Questionare Simulator scores between conditions; * Check if there is a difference in absolute power in the Delta band frequency of the parietal and frontal regions between the conditions; Hypothesis Our hypothesis is that the condition associated with binaural beats can promote neuromodulation in the electrophysiological activity of the brain cortex, altering the rhythms of brain wave frequencies, which can reduce sensory conflict in cybersickness, through wave entrainment.

Interventions

Condition 02- will be used binaural beats, since they are referred through studies with the ability to drive neural oscillations in the beat frequency through differential hemispheric synchronization frequencies, it is expected that a neuromodulation and repercussion of the symptomatological reduction of CS.

Sponsors

Federal University of Piaui
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Masking description

Participants will not be aware of the intention of each of the immersion conditions, and will be randomized through a program for each of the conditions, by a researcher external to the research, and sorted through an opaque envelope, the participants and the researcher, not will know in which condition they will be allocated, only on the day of the draw, each participant will be allocated in the condition and the researcher will not be aware of which condition the participant will be immersed in (condition 01 - video only) or (condition 02 - video associated with binaural beat) .

Intervention model description

The study will be a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial, with university students of both sexes in the city of Parnaíba - PI, volunteers who present cybersickness will be evaluated, those who meet the admission criteria will be randomized and allocated and will be immersed in three conditions, in these conditions the volunteers will be immersed in VR to induce symptoms, where bimodal conditions will be analyzed and compared to analyze the variable electrophysiological activity and the influence of multisensory conditions.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 28 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Participants must have normal or corrected to normal vision * Participant must have a history of visually induced motion sickness

Exclusion criteria

* Cannot present vestibular disorders * Claustrophobia * Epileptic seizures * Musculoskeletal disorders * psychoactive drug use * Neurological disorders * Considerable hearing loss

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
analysis of electrophysiological activityIn pre-intervention procedures, the baseline cortical electroencephalography will be analyzed for 5 minutes. After immersion, the same procedures will be performedAnalisys of absolute power of the Delta band frequencies of the frontal and temporand regions of the brain.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Analysis of symptoms through the SSQ questionnaireIn the pre-intervention procedures, before the cortical analysis, the SSQ instrument will be applied, and immediately after each session, the subjective assessment instrument will be appliedSimulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) is a widely used tool to assess the subjective severity of symptoms of simulator illness and cybersickness. It consists of 16 items, on a four-point scale (from 'none' to 'severe').

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026