School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada; Center for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada; Center for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Gait Posture. 2024 Mar;109:298-302. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2024.02.012. Epub 2024 Feb 16.
Upright quiet stance is maintained through the complex integration of sensory information from the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems [1]. Virtual reality (VR) is a well-established tool that has been used to study sensory contributions to balance and induce visual perturbations. Previous assessments of virtual environments have suggested that VR can be used to create various visual stimuli that affect balance [2]; however, there is limited work examining which dynamic visual stimulus, in the form of circular vection (CV), is the most effective at inducing whole body lean.
Therefore, this study assessed the effects of two visual stimuli using VR to better understand their effects on postural control.
33 healthy young adults between the ages of 18-40, free of neurological impairments, stood quietly on a force plate for 30 s while wearing a head-mounted display. Participants were exposed to a field of random white dots (DOTS) or a black and white striped tunnel (TUNNEL) that rotated in the roll plane at 60°/s clockwise or counterclockwise. Amplitude was calculated from head orientation data recorded from a head-mounted display, and centre of pressure (COP).
Independent of visual stimuli, postural lean was in the same direction as the stimulus. The DOTS stimulus increased Head orientation and COP position compared to the TUNNEL stimulus. There was no significant main effect or interaction with direction for Head or COP data.
When comparing the effect of stimulus design on postural sway, a DOTS stimulus was most effective at inducing direction-modulated postural sway This study builds on our understanding of the VR-related destabilizing effects on postural control and shows evidence that a DOTS stimulus has a stronger effect than a TUNNEL stimulus. Overall, it is important to consider the design of visual stimuli when examining VR effects on upright stance.
直立静立姿势是通过视觉、前庭和躯体感觉系统的复杂整合来维持的[1]。虚拟现实（VR）是一种成熟的工具，已被用于研究平衡的感觉贡献和诱发视觉干扰。以前对虚拟环境的评估表明，VR 可用于创建各种影响平衡的视觉刺激[2]；然而，很少有研究探讨哪种动态视觉刺激（如圆周运动错觉）最有效地诱导全身倾斜。
因此，本研究使用 VR 评估了两种视觉刺激的效果，以更好地了解它们对姿势控制的影响。
33 名年龄在 18-40 岁之间、无神经损伤的健康年轻人，头戴显示器，安静地站在力板上 30 秒。参与者暴露于随机白点（DOTS）或黑白条纹隧道（TUNNEL）的视觉刺激中，该刺激以 60°/s 的速度顺时针或逆时针旋转。从头戴式显示器记录的头部方向数据和中心压力（COP）计算幅度。
无论视觉刺激如何，姿势倾斜都与刺激方向一致。与 TUNNEL 刺激相比，DOTS 刺激增加了头部方向和 COP 位置。头部或 COP 数据没有显示出与方向的显著主效应或相互作用。
当比较刺激设计对姿势摆动的影响时，DOTS 刺激最有效地诱导方向调制的姿势摆动。本研究加深了我们对 VR 相关姿势控制不稳定效应的理解，并表明 DOTS 刺激比 TUNNEL 刺激的效果更强。总的来说，在研究 VR 对直立姿势的影响时，考虑视觉刺激的设计很重要。
