To a high degree, vision affects
our ability to keep our balance, and balance affects our ability to move
around. People with long-term dizziness sometimes rely a lot on their vision
and do not use the very quick and effective balance system provided by sensory
information from joints and muscles. VR could become an efficient tool for
older people with balance problems or for rehabilitation following injuries or
illness that affect balance and movement. In a new study, researchers have
studied how the human balance system is affected by watching VR videos. Twenty
healthy women and men took part in the study, in which they watched a VR
simulation of a roller-coaster ride while standing on a platform which
registered their postural stability.
The researchers investigated how
the participants' balance system was affected when visual information was
disrupted by the experience of being in a VR environment which gave them a
strong sensation of being in movement. The study shows that the human balance
system can very quickly cease to rely on vision and use other senses instead,
such as sensory information from the feet, joints and muscles to increase
postural stability. Differences also emerged in how men and women are affected
by watching a VR video. More women had difficulty maintaining their balance in
a VR environment and they generally needed more practice before they learnt to
use their other senses to increase postural stability.
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