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  • Per-Anders Fransson
    Lund University
  • Mitesh Patel
    Imperial College London
  • Hanna Jensen
    Lund University
  • Michèle Lundberg
    Imperial College London
  • Fredrik Tjernström
    Lund University
  • Mans Magnusson
    Lund University
  • Eva Ekvall Hansson
    Lund University
The ability to handle sensory conflicts and use the most appropriate sensory information is vital for successful recovery of human postural control after injury. The objective was to determine if virtual reality (VR) could provide a vehicle for sensory training, and determine the temporal and spatial nature of such adaptive changes. Twenty healthy subjects participated in the study (10 females). The subjects watched a 90-second VR simulation of railroad (rollercoaster) motion in mountainous terrain during five repeated simulations, while standing on a force platform that recorded their stability. The immediate response to watching the VR movie was an increased level of postural instability. Repeatedly watching the same VR movie significantly reduced both the anteroposterior (62%, p < 0.001) and lateral (47%, p = 0.001) energy used. However, females adapted more slowly to the VR stimuli as reflected by higher use of total (p = 0.007), low frequency (p = 0.027) and high frequency (p = 0.026) energy. Healthy subjects can significantly adapt to a multidirectional, provocative, visual environment after 4–5 repeated sessions of VR. Consequently, VR technology might be an effective tool for rehabilitation involving visual desensitisation. However, some females may require more training sessions to achieve effects with VR.
Original languageEnglish
Article number3168
JournalScientific Reports
Volume9
Publication statusPublished - 28 Feb 2019
Externally publishedYes
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