Differences in Brain Activity and Body Movements Between Virtual Reality and Offline Exercise: Randomized Crossover Trial

Abstract

Background Virtual reality (VR) has been suggested to be effective at enhancing physical exercises because of its immersive characteristics. However, few studies have quantitatively assessed the range of motion and brain activity during VR exercises. Objective We hypothesized that 3D immersive VR could stimulate body movement and brain activity more effectively than standard exercises and that the increased range of motions during 3D immersive VR exercises would be associated with orbitofrontal activation. Methods A randomized crossover trial was conducted to compare exercises with and without VR. A total of 24 healthy males performed the same motions when exercising with and without 3D immersive VR, and the recorded videos were used for motion analysis. Hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex were assessed using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results There were significant differences in the total angle (z=−2.31; P=.02), length (z=−2.78; P=.005), calorie consumption (z=−3.04; P=.002), and change in accumulated oxygenated hemoglobin within the right orbitofrontal cortex (F1,94=9.36; P=.003) between the VR and offline trials. Hemodynamic changes in the right orbitofrontal cortex were positively correlated with the total angle (r=0.45; P=.001) and length (r=0.38; P=.007) in the VR exercise; however, there was no significant correlation in the offline trial. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that 3D immersive VR exercise effectively increases the range of motion in healthy individuals in relation to orbitofrontal activation. Trial Registration Clinical Research Information Service KCT0008021; https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/detailSearch.do/23671

iVR-fNIRS: studying brain functions in a fully immersive virtual environment

“… 81 Several iVR-fNIRS studies have implemented fully immersive virtual environments and stimulations that could span over multiple dimensions to modify subjects’ visual, auditory, haptic, and other sensory inputs, inducing illusions of flying, driving, out-of-body experiences, or emergency situations. 43 , 53 , 61 , 66 Another application is the study of brain responses during exposure therapy for individuals with phobia or anxiety disorders. 60 iVR allowed for complex object/situation presentations while offering precise adjustments on exposure type, duration, and dose, overcoming the current barrier of ethical or tolerability concerns in such studies.…”

“… 105 Addressing these challenges is crucial in future iVR-fNIRS investigations to ensure the reliability of findings and prevent false discoveries. 110 Strategies employed in the reviewed studies included adopting lower low-pass temporal filtering cutoff frequencies (e.g., 0.1 or 0.2 Hz) 28 , 32 , 42 , 44 – 47 , 51 , 53 , 55 , 60 , 61 in contrast to the recommended 0.5Hz, 111 various motion correction methods, 35 , 38 , 39 , 44 , 55 , 56 , 62 principal component analysis for signal component separation, 57 , 61 and pre-whitening and least-square regression-based approaches to eliminate intrinsic signal auto-correlations. 33 , 54 , 58 , 59 Some studies incorporated additional measures to account for systemic physiological effects, such as the inclusion of short-separation fNIRS channels.…”

“…Additional studies have explored the perceptual and executive processes associated with sensorimotor functions in various iVR scenarios. For example, Kim et al 53 simulated an open sky space that allowed their participants to "fly freely" with few restrictions on the extents and angles of limb movements. They demonstrated a positive correlation between ranges of participant movements in iVR and the HbO concentrations in their right orbitofrontal cortex.…”

“…Additional studies have explored the perceptual and executive processes associated with sensorimotor functions in various iVR scenarios. For example, Kim et al 53 . simulated an open sky space that allowed their participants to “fly freely” with few restrictions on the extents and angles of limb movements.…”

Effects of Virtual Reality Pilates Training on Duration of Posture Maintenance and Flow in Young, Healthy Individuals: Randomized Crossover Trial

“…Participants were included if they were male Korean nationals aged ≥20 years attending university with a major in physical education; participants' physical health, along with confirmation of an absence of mental illness, was confirmed by a health check-up program at a university-affiliated hospital. Participants were excluded if they had a history of head trauma; abused substances such as alcohol, tobacco, or drugs; were unable to understand the study and consent procedures; or had a confirmed diagnosis of a mental or psychiatric disorder [20]. For this study, we estimated the sample size using G* Power (Heinrich-Heine-Universität).…”