Virtual reality as a tool to explore multisensory processing before and after engagement in physical activity

Aysha Basharat; Samira Mehrabi; John E Muñoz; Laura E Middleton; Shi Cao; Jennifer Boger; Michael Barnett-Cowan

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1207651

Virtual reality as a tool to explore multisensory processing before and after engagement in physical activity

Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Nov 2:15:1207651. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1207651. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Aysha Basharat¹, Samira Mehrabi¹, John E Muñoz², Laura E Middleton³, Shi Cao², Jennifer Boger³, Michael Barnett-Cowan¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
² Department of Systems Design Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
³ Research Institute for Aging, Waterloo, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: This pilot study employed a non-randomized control trial design to explore the impact of physical activity within a virtual reality (VR) environment on multisensory processing among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: The investigation compared both chronic (over 6 weeks) and acute effects of VR-based physical activity to a reading control group. The evaluation metrics for multisensory processing included audiovisual response time (RT), simultaneity judgments (SJ), sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI), and temporal order judgments (TOJ). A total of 13 older adults were provided with VR headsets featuring custom-designed games, while another 14 older adults were assigned to a reading-based control group.

Results: Results indicated that acute engagement in physical activity led to higher accuracy in the SIFI task (experimental group: 85.6%; control group: 78.2%; p = 0.037). Additionally, both chronic and acute physical activity resulted in quicker response times (chronic: experimental group = 336.92; control group = 381.31; p = 0.012; acute: experimental group = 333.38; control group = 383.09; p = 0.006). Although the reading group showed a non-significant trend for greater improvement in mean RT, covariate analyses revealed that this discrepancy was due to the older age of the reading group.

Discussion: The findings suggest that immersive VR has potential utility for enhancing multisensory processing in older adults. However, future studies must rigorously control for participant variables like age and sex to ensure more accurate comparisons between experimental and control conditions.

Keywords: aging; audiovisual integration; multisensory; physical activity; virtual reality.

Grants and funding

This work was generously supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant and an Ontario Research Fund Grant to MB-C, a University of Waterloo Trailblazer Grant to MB-C and SC, a University of Waterloo Network for Aging Research grant to JB and LM and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology, and President’s Graduate Scholarship to AB.