Peripheral Viewing During Exposure to a 2D/3D Video Clip: Effects on the Human Body
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Environ Health Prev Med (2015) 20:79–89 DOI 10.1007/s12199-014-0424-4 REGULAR ARTICLE Peripheral viewing during exposure to a 2D/3D video clip: effects on the human body Masumi Takada • Yuta Fukui • Yasuyuki Matsuura • Motohiko Sato • Hiroki Takada Received: 30 October 2014 / Accepted: 10 November 2014 / Published online: 24 December 2014 Ó The Japanese Society for Hygiene 2014 Abstract changed remarkably after the 3D video clip was viewed Objectives Symptoms of three-dimensional (3D) sickness, peripherally and produced a persistent instability in equi- such as intoxication and eye fatigue, have been observed in librium function. The questionnaire findings also signifi- subjects viewing 3D films and vary according to the image cantly changed after the subjects viewed the video clips quality and visual environment. In addition, the influence of peripherally. stereoscopic vision on the incidence of 3D sickness has not Conclusions Subjective exacerbation and deterioration of been explored sufficiently. Therefore, it is important to equilibrium function were observed after peripheral view- examine the safety of viewing virtual 3D content. ing of 3D video clips. This persistent influence may result Methods The present study examines the effects of when subjects view a poorly depicted background element peripheral vision on reported motion sickness during expo- peripherally, which generates depth perception that con- sure to 2D/3D video clips for 1 min and for 1 min afterwards tradicts daily experience. in human subjects. Stabilograms were recorded during exposure to video clips with or without visual pursuit of a 3D Keywords Body sway Á Stabilogram Á Stereoscopic object and compared, and subjects were administered the image Á Simulator sickness questionnaire Á SSQ simulator sickness questionnaire after stabilometry. Results There were no significant main effects of solidity of the visual stimulous (2D/3D) and the vision method Introduction (visual pursuit/peripheral viewing) in accordance with the two-way analysis of variance of the sway values, although In recent times, the familiarity towards three-dimensional the sway values during the 2D/3D video clips were higher (3D) images has increased greatly because 3D movie than in control subjects. A consistent trend in the main contents providing binocular parallax are loaded onto dif- effect of stability was observed. Further, the sway values ferent sources of amusement, such as cinema, home tele- vision, and game machines. Although the visual presence has been enhanced by the progress in 3D technology, & M. Takada ( ) Á M. Sato Á H. Takada which enables portrayal of movie scenes more realistically, Department of physiology, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1195, Japan each merit has its demerit. In this case, motion sickness is e-mail: [email protected] induced while viewing stereoscopic video clips [1]. The standing posture in humans is maintained by the Y. Fukui Á H. Takada body’s balance function, which is an involuntary physio- Department of Human and Artificial Intelligent System, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui, logical adjustment mechanism called the ‘‘righting reflex’’ 3-9-1 Bunkyo, Fukui, Fukui 910-8507, Japan [2]. This righting reflex, which is centered in the nucleus ruber, is essential to maintain the standing posture when Y. Matsuura the body is stationary. For this, the body’s balance function Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University, 1 Yamanohata, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, utilizes sensory signals such as visual, auditory, and ves- Aichi 467-8501, Japan tibular inputs, as well as proprioceptive inputs from the 123 80 Environ Health Prev Med (2015) 20:79–89 skin, muscles, and joints [3]. The evaluation of this func- the stabilograms of individuals with high SSQ scores, tion is indispensable for diagnosing equilibrium distur- while the length for individuals with low scores is less bances like cerebellar degenerations, basal ganglia affected by such a stance [15]. We reported that VIMS disorders, or Parkinson’s disease [4]. Since long, stabil- could be detected by the total locus length and SPD, which ometry has been employed for a qualitative and quantita- were used as the analytical indices of stabilograms [16]. tive evaluation of this equilibrium function. In this, a The recent widespread use of stereoscopic vision facil- projection of a subject’s center of gravity onto a detection itates provision of virtual reality and sensation; however, as stand is measured as an average of the center of pressure discussed, since long, there has been concern over the (COP) of both the feet. The COP is traced for each time symptoms caused by stereoscopic vision. Accordingly, in step, and the time series of the projections is traced on an the present study, we have examined whether our visual x–y plane (this has been explained in detail in the following and equilibrium systems are affected by an hour-long section). By connecting the temporally vicinal points, a session of stereoscopic viewing [17, 18]. In an earlier study stabilogram is created. Several parameters are widely used by Yoshikawa et al. [18], the sway values measured after in clinical studies to quantify the degree of instability in the visual pursuit of the stereoscopic sphere in a video clip standing posture; for instance, the area of sway (A), total tended to become smaller than those after (peripheral) locus length (L), and locus length per unit area (L/A). It has viewing without purposeful pursuit of the object. In addi- been revealed that the last parameter is particularly related tion, when the subjects were not allowed to fix the point of to the fine variations involved in posture control [2]. Thus, gaze as they wished, they looked at the objects with dif- the L/A index is regarded as a gauge for evaluating the ferent virtual depth. Each time subjects change their point function of the proprioceptive control of standing in human of gaze, interaction occurs between systems to control beings. However, it is difficult to clinically diagnose dis- accommodation and convergence. A state of non-equilib- orders of balance and identify the decline in the equilib- rium in the control system for visual information process- rium function by utilizing the abovementioned indices and ing imposes additional load on the human body. Further, measuring patterns in a stabilogram alone. In addition, the intermittent inconsistency between accommodation and large inter-individual differences might make it difficult to convergence is considered to cause imbalance in our understand the results of such a comparison. Accordingly, autonomic nervous system. To examine this hypothesis, we we proposed a new index, called sparse density (SPD) [5, measured the severity of the influence of peripheral view- 6], which depends on the density of COPs in some local ing, which is expected to cause uncomfortable symptoms area of the stabilograms. With reference to the mathemat- of motion sickness, and compared it with the influence of ical model of systems to control upright postures, the SPD the visual pursuit of a virtual object on the equilibrium quantifies the stability of the systems, and is deemed sig- function. In addition, we discussed the relationship among nificant (see ‘‘Appendix’’). convergence, accommodation of lenses, and depth of the Watching 3D movies, though, can produce certain virtual object observed when subjects complain of the adverse effects such as asthenopia and motion sickness [7]. discomfort caused by 3D sickness. It has been considered that this visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is caused by the sensory conflict that results from the disagreement between convergence and Materials and methods visual accommodation while viewing 3D images [8]. Thus, stereoscopic images have been devised to reduce this dis- Eleven healthy men (mean ± standard deviation, agreement [9, 10]. In this paper, we also examine whether 22.6 ± 0.7 years), who may have had any otorhinolar- the VIMS is caused by this kind of the sensory conflict. yngologic or neurological diseases in the past, participated Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) can be mea- in this study. The experiment was sufficiently explained to sured by psychological and physiological methods, and the the subjects, following which written consent was obtained simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) is a well-known from them. The research was approved by the Ethics psychological method for measuring the extent of motion Committee, Nagoya City University Graduate School of sickness [11]. The SSQ has been used in the present study Natural Sciences: Project ID Number 42. to verify the occurrence of VIMS. In addition, the fol- In this experiment, the body sway was measured while lowing parameters of autonomic nervous activity are con- viewing 2D/3D video clips. The subjects stood on the sidered appropriate for the physiological method: heart rate detection stand of a stabilometer GS3000 (Anima Co. Ltd., variability, blood pressure, electrogastrography, and gal- Tokyo), without moving, with their feet together in the vanic skin reaction [12–14]. It has been reported that a Romberg posture, for 30 s before the sway was recorded. wide stance (with the midlines of the heels from 17 to Each sway of the COP was then recorded at a sampling 30 cm apart) significantly increases the total locus length in frequency of 20 Hz. The subjects were instructed to 123 Environ Health Prev Med (2015) 20:79–89 81 designed in our experimental protocol to evaluate the severity of the VIMS during and after viewing the video clips. In stabilometry, the COP on an x–y plane was recorded at each time step where x and y directions were defined as the right and the anterior planes on their faces, respectively. Stabilograms were obtained each experi- mental period from the time series of their COP. Finally, we calculated the new index SPD, and the previously stated sway values such as area of sway, total locus length, total locus length per unit area, defined in Suzuki et al.