Beyond Feeling Sick: The Visual and Cognitive Aftereffects of Virtual Reality

Abstract

Despite continued improvements in virtual reality (VR) technologies, many people still experience adverse symptoms from using head-mounted displays (HMDs). Typically, these symptoms are monitored through self-report measures, such as the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ); however, by only using subjective measures many symptoms may be overlooked. In an application-based study, we investigated visual and cognitive aftereffects of using HMDs and their relationship to the reporting of sickness on the SSQ. Visual (accommodation and vergence) and cognitive (reaction time and rapid visual processing) assessments were employed before and after participants engaged in a 30-minute VR table tennis game (VR group, n = 27) or went about their daily activities (control group, n = 28). The data showed changes in accommodation but no concurrent changes in vergence, which likely stems from decoupling accommodation and vergence in VR. Furthermore, larger changes in accommodation were linked to more severe sickness symptoms suggesting that decoupling accommodation and vergence could be more adverse than previously thought. The VR group also had slower decision (cognitive) times, but movement times were unaffected. These findings go beyond the typical self-reporting of sickness in VR studies. Moreover, we demonstrate that even in a high-quality commercial virtual environment, users may experience visual and cognitive aftereffects that may negatively influence their experience with subsequent activities in the real world. Developing an understanding of how VR aftereffects may influence later activities could help to minimise the risk of using HMDs for various applications and may be valuable to obtain a better understanding of user issues and VR safety.

Virtual Reality Is Sexist: But It Does Not Have to Be

“…The results of Experiment 2 suggest that if an individual's IPD can be properly fit to the VR headset, gender differences in cybersickness are not expected (see Table 8 and Figure 3 -Top). Cybersickness is still expected, as was experienced in Experiment 2 (see AE1 in Table 8 ) due to visual-vestibular mismatches (Reason and Brand, 1975 ; Oman, 1998 ) and vergence-accommodation conflict (Szpak et al, 2019 ). Specifically, if designers create content with a great deal of vection (Webb and Griffin, 2003 ) associated with high levels of visual-vestibular mismatches and/or content with a large conflict between vergence and focal distances (Hoffman et al, 2008 ), these conflicts are expected to precipitate sickness (see Figure 4 ).…”

Exergaming With Beat Saber: An Investigation of Virtual Reality Aftereffects

“…Motion sickness , or VR sickness, has plagued VR since its early days. While the VR industry has seen a surge in accessibility, greater reliability, and lower prices even for casual consumers, many users are still affected by symptoms of VR sickness [ 13 - 15 ]. High levels of VR sickness symptoms such as nausea, disorientation, and visual disturbances have been estimated to result in an average dropout rate of 15.6% [ 14 ].…”

“…VR sickness has been shown to decrease or break presence [ 10 , 11 ], impact motivation and enjoyment [ 9 , 16 ], and influence task performance [ 17 - 19 ]. Apart from the commonly assessed self-reported symptoms, depth perception and cognition may also be affected when users experience VR sickness [ 15 , 20 , 21 ]; however, little is known about these aftereffects. Considering the potential benefits of serious VR gaming, it is crucial to better understand the adverse effects that limit its potential and continued uptake.…”

“…If there is a conflict between visual and vestibular sensations relayed back to the brain, an individual may experience a disturbance in sensory integration leading to the occurrence of motion sickness symptoms such as nausea or disorientation. An individual may also experience an increase in oculomotor symptoms resulting from vergence-accommodation conflicts from HMDs [ 15 , 20 , 28 ]. Vergence and accommodation are essential oculomotor functions that facilitate the accurate use of depth cues [ 15 ].…”

“…An individual may also experience an increase in oculomotor symptoms resulting from vergence-accommodation conflicts from HMDs [ 15 , 20 , 28 ]. Vergence and accommodation are essential oculomotor functions that facilitate the accurate use of depth cues [ 15 ]. It is unclear whether vergence-accommodation conflicts are responsible for VR sickness in certain individuals or whether it compounds the severity of sickness symptoms.…”