Vibro-motor Reprocessing Therapy towards Managing Motion Sickness Reduction: Evidence from EEG.

Abstract

This study examines the neural activities of participants undergoing vibro-motor reprocessing therapy (VRT) while experiencing motion sickness. We evaluated the efficacy of vibro-motor reprocessing therapy, a novel therapeutic technique based on eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), in reducing motion sickness. Based on visually induced motion sickness in two sets of performed sessions, eight participants were exposed to VRT stimulation in a VRT/non-VRT setting. Simultaneously, brain activity changes were recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) at baseline and during stimulus exposure, and comparisons made across the VRT/non-VRT conditions. A significant reduction in the alpha (8-12 Hz) spectral power was observed in the frontal and occipital locations, consistent across all participants. Furthermore, significant reductions were also found in the frontal and occipital delta (0.5-4 Hz) and theta (4-8 Hz) spectral power frequency bands between non-VRT and VRT conditions (p < 0.05). Our results offer novel insights for a potential nonpharmacological treatment and attenuation of motion sickness. Furthermore, symptoms can be observed, and alleviated, in real-time using the reported techniques. Clinical relevance - Instead of using drugs to treat motion sickness, patients could safely use this VRT technique.