Cybersickness in Different Multisensory Conditions in Virtual Reality
Condition: Cybersickness; Reduced Sensation
MeSH terms: Hypesthesia
Study type: Interventional

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.
    

Intervention name(s): Binaural beats
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): 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.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
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.
Masking: Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: cybersickness; virtual reality; binaural beats; electroencephalography