Temporal Dynamics of Visually Induced Motion Perception and Neural Evidence of Alterations in the Motion Perception Process in an Immersive Virtual Reality Environment

• Published in: Frontiers in neuroscience Vol. 14; p. 600839
• Main Authors: Ahn, Min-Hee, Park, Jeong Hye, Jeon, Hanjae, Lee, Hyo-Jeong, Kim, Hyung-Jong, Hong, Sung Kwang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 19-11-2020; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Cognitive ability; Computer applications; Electrodes; Electroencephalography; Event-related potentials; Motion detection; motion sickness; Nausea; Neuroscience; perception; Perceptions; sensory mismatch; Signal processing; Simulation; Velocity; Vestibular system; Virtual reality; virtual realtiy; Visual stimuli; United States > US; Germany; motion sickness; sensory mismatch; virtual realtiy; perception; vestibular system
• ISSN: 1662-4548; 1662-453X; 1662-453X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.600839

Even though reciprocal inhibitory vestibular interactions following visual stimulation have been understood as sensory-reweighting mechanisms to stabilize motion perception; this hypothesis has not been thoroughly investigated with temporal dynamic measurements. Recently, virtual reality technology has been implemented in different medical domains. However, exposure in virtual reality environments can cause discomfort, including nausea or headache, due to visual-vestibular conflicts. We speculated that self-motion perception could be altered by accelerative visual motion stimulation in the virtual reality situation because of the absence of vestibular signals (visual-vestibular sensory conflict), which could result in the sickness. The current study investigated spatio-temporal profiles for motion perception using immersive virtual reality. We demonstrated alterations in neural dynamics under the sensory mismatch condition (accelerative visual motion stimulation) and in participants with high levels of sickness after driving simulation. Additionally, an event-related potentials study revealed that the high-sickness group presented with higher P3 amplitudes in sensory mismatch conditions, suggesting that it would be a substantial demand of cognitive resources for motion perception on sensory mismatch conditions.