ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research

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2021/07/06 | Research | Virtual & Augmented Reality

Congruent information enhances motor skills training

In neurorehabilitation after stroke or brain injury, immersive virtual reality can be a valuable tool to re-train lost motor skills. To date, embodiment of a virtual avatar was hypothesized to be essential for this. Now, the ARTORG Motor Learning and Neurorehabilitation lab, in collaboration with the Department of Psychology, UniBern, has shown in a first study that congruent multisensory information might be even more important to accurately and rapidly perform motor tasks in immersive VR.

Experimental setup and VE. (A) A participant performing Task 1. Her index finger is stroked in a congruent mode and her left hand is on the response box. The blue dot seen on the virtual finger on the researcher’s screen indicates to the researcher which finger to stroke. By pressing the trigger button on the controller, the virtual brush appears. The virtual brush moves accordingly to the real brush attached to the controller and disappears as soon as the fingertip is reached. (B) Participant’s first-person perspective point of view in the VE during Task 1. The blue dot is not visible. (C) Participant’s first-person perspective point of view in the VE during Task 2. (D) Overview of the VE, including the female version of the avatar. (doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.678909)

Studies into immersive virtual reality for neurorehabilitation have not specifically distinguished between congruent vs. incongruent multisensory stimulation used to modulate body ownership to improve motor task performance. The present study aimed to take a closer look at this correlation between congruent vs. incongruent visuo-tactile information and motor performance.

50 healthy participants performed a decision-making and a motor task. Body ownership was assessed subjectively via questionnaires and objectively with galvanic skin response. Results suggest that congruent information spurred reaction times and completion times of motor tasks in immersive VR, while the benefit of subjective body ownership on motor task performance requires further investigation. Authors conclude that providing congruent information in immersive VR is especially beneficial for training motor tasks, e.g. in neurorehabilitation.