Who says you are so sick? An investigation on individual susceptibility to cybersickness triggers using EEG, EGG and ECG

Abstract

In this research paper, we conducted a study to investigate the connection between three objective measures: Electrocardiogram(ECG), Electrogastrogram (EGG), and Electroencephalogram (EEG), and individuals' susceptibility to cybersickness. Our primary objective was to identify which of these factors plays a central role in causing discomfort when experiencing rotations along three different axes: Roll, Pitch, and Yaw. This study involved 35 participants who were tasked with destroying asteroids using their eye gaze while undergoing passive rotations in four separate sessions. The results, when combined with subjective measurements (specifically, Fast motion sickness questionnaire (FMS) and Simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) score), demonstrated that EGG measurements were superior in detecting symptoms associated with nausea. As for ECG measurements, our observations did reveal significant changes in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) parameters. However, we caution against relying solely on ECG as a dependable indicator for assessing the extent of cybersickness. Most notably, EEG signals emerged as a crucial resource for discerning individual differences related to these rotational axes. Our findings were significant not only in the context of periodic activities but also underscored the potential of aperiodic activities in detecting the severity of cybersickness and an individual's susceptibility to rotational triggers.