Influence of virtual reality visual feedback on the illusion of movement induced by tendon vibration of wrist in healthy participants

Abstract

Introduction Illusion of movement induced by tendon vibration is an effective approach for motor and sensory rehabilitation in case of neurological impairments. The aim of our study was to investigate which modality of visual feedback in Virtual Reality (VR) associated with tendon vibration of the wrist could induce the best illusion of movement. Methods We included 30 healthy participants in the experiment. Tendon vibration inducing illusion of movement (wrist extension, 100Hz) was applied on their wrist during 3 VR visual conditions (10 times each): a moving virtual hand corresponding to the movement that the participants could feel during the tendon vibration (Moving condition), a static virtual hand (Static condition), or no virtual hand at all (Hidden condition). After each trial, the participants had to quantify the intensity of the illusory movement on a Likert scale, the subjective degree of extension of their wrist and afterwards they answered a questionnaire. Results There was a significant difference between the 3 visual feedback conditions concerning the Likert scale ranking and the degree of wrist’s extension (p<0.001). The Moving condition induced a higher intensity of illusion of movement and a higher sensation of wrist’s extension than the Hidden condition (p<0.001 and p<0.001 respectively) than that of the Static condition (p<0.001 and p<0.001 respectively). The Hidden condition also induced a higher intensity of illusion of movement and a higher sensation of wrist’s extension than the Static condition (p<0.01 and p<0.01 respectively). The preferred condition to facilitate movement’s illusion was the Moving condition (63.3%). Conclusions This study demonstrated the importance of carefully selecting a visual feedback to improve the illusion of movement induced by tendon vibration, and the increase of illusion by adding VR visual cues congruent to the illusion of movement. Further work will consist in testing the same hypothesis with stroke patients.

Visual feedback improves movement illusions induced by tendon vibration after chronic stroke

“…We also found a correlation between the intensity of illusion of movement and the sensation of wrist's extension. Contrary to the literature and the results of a similar previous study with healthy participants [16,21,22], the Hidden and the Static conditions were comparable in terms of sensation of wrist displacement and procured a weak intensity of illusion of movements in the participants. We considered that the Static condition was an "incongruent" stimuli, whereas the Hidden condition was a "neutral" stimuli and the Moving condition a "congruent" stimuli.…”

“…In the literature, we found that a tendon vibration during blindness could allow illusion of movement [21]. We compared in a previous study including healthy participants a neutral stimuli (corresponding to blindness) to congruent or incongruent stimuli [16]. We found that a congruent condition (i.e.…”

“…In a previous protocol, we studied the influence of congruent virtual visual cues on the illusion of movement induced by tendon vibration among healthy participants [16]. We determined that congruent visual virtual cues could significantly enhance the wrist illusion of movement during tendon vibration.…”

Mechanism of the Developed Sensorimotor Therapy Device: Synchronous Inputs of Visual Stimuli and Vibration to Improve Recovery of Distal Radius Fractures

“…The combination of vibration stimuli and visual stimuli was examined in healthy participants, showing the importance of carefully selecting specific visual feedback to improve the illusion of movement induced by tendon vibration. Moreover, the illusion was enhanced by adding VR cues congruent with the illusion of movement [10].…”

Influence of the visuo-proprioceptive illusion of movement and motor imagery of the wrist on EEG cortical excitability among healthy participants

“…(2013) also proved that the addition of VR enhanced the perception of the illusory movement induced by tendon vibration among healthy participants [ 19 ]. Other studies have demonstrated the interest of using a virtual environment congruent with the movement of the limb to enable a better illusion and feeling of embodiment [ 20 , 21 ], or have demonstrated the effect of the combination of visuomotor and visuotactile stimulation on the illusion of ownership of the virtual body [ 22 ].…”