Effect of background element difference on regional cerebral blood flow while viewing stereoscopic video clips

Abstract

Stereoscopic video clips cause discomfort, such as headache, vomiting, and eye fatigue, based on their image elements and viewing conditions. The symptoms are termed as 3D motion sickness, and the mechanism of their occurrence is not elucidated to date. To watch stereoscopic video clips safely, it is essential to verify the effects of stereoscopic video clips on the body. In the study, we created two types of stereoscopic video clips with different background elements to verify the research hypothesis that information from the peripheral visual field significantly affects 3D motion sickness. Additionally, the regional cerebral blood flow while viewing stereoscopic video clips was measured via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Thus, it was confirmed that the difference in the background element in the peripheral visual field when viewing stereoscopic video clips affected the regional cerebral blood flow from the occipital lobe to the prefrontal cortex. This suggests that visual information on depth perception by the dorsal visual pathway can be overloaded while viewing stereoscopic video clips with background elements.