title: Does visual fatigue from 3D displays affect autonomic regulation and heart rhythm?
abstract: Most investigations into the negative effects of viewing stereoscopic 3D content on human health have addressed 3D visual fatigue and visually induced motion sickness (VIMS). Very few, however, have looked into changes in autonomic balance and heart rhythm, which are homeostatic factors that ought to be taken into consideration when assessing the overall impact of 3D video viewing on human health. In this study, 30 participants were randomly assigned to two groups: one group watching a 2D video, (2D-group) and the other watching a 3D video (3D-group). The subjects in the 3D-group showed significantly increased heart rates (HR), indicating arousal, and an increased VLF/HF (Very Low Frequency/High Frequency) ratio (a measure of autonomic balance), compared to those in the 2D-group, indicating that autonomic balance was not stable in the 3D-group. Additionally, a more disordered heart rhythm pattern and increasing heart rate (as determined by the R-peak to R-peak (RR) interval) was observed among subjects in the 3D-group compared to subjects in the 2D-group, further indicating that 3D viewing induces lasting activation of the sympathetic nervous system and interrupts autonomic balance.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Emotion Engineering, Graduate School, Sangmyung University, 7 Hongji-dong, Jongro-Ku, Seoul 110-743, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ini0630@naver.com.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Emotion Engineering, Graduate School, Sangmyung University, 7 Hongji-dong, Jongro-Ku, Seoul 110-743, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: dnjsaudwn@naver.com.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Won
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Human Computer Interaction and Robotics, University of Science and Technology, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Hwarangno 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-791, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: scmun@kist.re.kr.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mun
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Computer Science, Sangmyung University, 7 Hongji-dong, Jongro-Ku, Seoul 110-743, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: eclee@smu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Digital Media, Sangmyung University, 7 Hongji-dong, Jongro-Ku, Seoul 110-743, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: whang@smu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Whang
keywords: 3D human factors; 3D visual fatigue; Autonomic balance; Cognitive load; Heart rhythm pattern