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Video exposure through virtual reality can improve older people’s ability to manage postural instability caused by distortive visual environments

Nae, Jenny Älmqvist LU orcid ; Nyström, Anastasia LU ; Luccini, Francesca ; Magnusson, Måns LU orcid and Hansson, Eva Ekvall LU (2024) In PLoS ONE 19(8).
Abstract

In older adults, age-related degenerative processes and disorders often degrade some sensory systems more than others, which can make postural control disproportionally dependent on one kind of sensory information. The study aims were to investigate 1) the postural stability when healthy older adults were repeatedly exposed to a video in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment, and 2) the relationship between stability during VR video exposure and self-reported physical activity, balance confidence, and nausea during VR. Twenty-seven older adults (18 females, mean age 71.3 years (SD 4.4)) watched a 120-second VR video 5 times with 10 minutes between sessions, while standing on a force platform recording their stability. The first... (More)

In older adults, age-related degenerative processes and disorders often degrade some sensory systems more than others, which can make postural control disproportionally dependent on one kind of sensory information. The study aims were to investigate 1) the postural stability when healthy older adults were repeatedly exposed to a video in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment, and 2) the relationship between stability during VR video exposure and self-reported physical activity, balance confidence, and nausea during VR. Twenty-seven older adults (18 females, mean age 71.3 years (SD 4.4)) watched a 120-second VR video 5 times with 10 minutes between sessions, while standing on a force platform recording their stability. The first VR video session produced a marked stability challenge, reflected by significantly increased use of anteroposterior and lateral total (p<0.001) and high frequency (p<0.001) energy compared with the control test quiet stance eyes open. However, repeated VR video sessions produced a multidimensional decrease in used total (p<0.001), low (p = 0.002), and high frequency energy (p<0.001). Participants used more energy in anteroposterior compared with lateral direction across sessions within all spectral ranges (p<0.001). Participants with higher physical activity level used less low frequency energy in anteroposterior direction during VR video session 1 (p = 0.033). No association was seen between balance confidence or nausea during VR and energy used during VR video sessions 1 and 5. Healthy older adults adapt fast to distortive visual environments, and thus, CNS can utilize the information provided by a few repeated VR video sessions into suitable movement strategies that have a simultaneous multidimensionally positive effect. VR may introduce numerous opportunities to customize novel rehabilitation approaches to address when the visual system causes and/or suffers from issues. However, a common problem for the older adult was that about 33% of the participants became nauseated by the VR video stimuli.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
19
issue
8
article number
e0306834
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85201776575
  • pmid:39167614
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0306834
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
887a2c34-dd7a-47d9-a1eb-a47b4173f56d
date added to LUP
2024-10-28 14:13:29
date last changed
2025-07-08 12:23:04
@article{887a2c34-dd7a-47d9-a1eb-a47b4173f56d,
  abstract     = {{<p>In older adults, age-related degenerative processes and disorders often degrade some sensory systems more than others, which can make postural control disproportionally dependent on one kind of sensory information. The study aims were to investigate 1) the postural stability when healthy older adults were repeatedly exposed to a video in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment, and 2) the relationship between stability during VR video exposure and self-reported physical activity, balance confidence, and nausea during VR. Twenty-seven older adults (18 females, mean age 71.3 years (SD 4.4)) watched a 120-second VR video 5 times with 10 minutes between sessions, while standing on a force platform recording their stability. The first VR video session produced a marked stability challenge, reflected by significantly increased use of anteroposterior and lateral total (p&lt;0.001) and high frequency (p&lt;0.001) energy compared with the control test quiet stance eyes open. However, repeated VR video sessions produced a multidimensional decrease in used total (p&lt;0.001), low (p = 0.002), and high frequency energy (p&lt;0.001). Participants used more energy in anteroposterior compared with lateral direction across sessions within all spectral ranges (p&lt;0.001). Participants with higher physical activity level used less low frequency energy in anteroposterior direction during VR video session 1 (p = 0.033). No association was seen between balance confidence or nausea during VR and energy used during VR video sessions 1 and 5. Healthy older adults adapt fast to distortive visual environments, and thus, CNS can utilize the information provided by a few repeated VR video sessions into suitable movement strategies that have a simultaneous multidimensionally positive effect. VR may introduce numerous opportunities to customize novel rehabilitation approaches to address when the visual system causes and/or suffers from issues. However, a common problem for the older adult was that about 33% of the participants became nauseated by the VR video stimuli.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nae, Jenny Älmqvist and Nyström, Anastasia and Luccini, Francesca and Magnusson, Måns and Hansson, Eva Ekvall}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Video exposure through virtual reality can improve older people’s ability to manage postural instability caused by distortive visual environments}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306834}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0306834}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}