ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Virtual reality can have a modulatory action on pain and the autonomic nervous system. This study sought to verify the effect of two different VR stimuli on the pressure pain threshold and heart rate variability.
METHODS:
Healthy volunteers were randomized into two groups of virtual reality, nature and control. The pressure pain threshold was measured pre and post stimulus and heart rate variability measurements were collected pre, during and after virtual reality stimuli. The exploratory data analysis was performed. The t test was used to compare pressure pain threshold. For the differences in heart rate variability measurements, the linear mixed model was used. The level of significance adopted was 95%.
RESULTS:
The virtual reality nature group was composed of 19 participants with mean age of 22.7±4.72 years and the control virtual reality group was composed of 22 participants with mean age of 21.13±2.42 years. The virtual reality nature group showed an increase in the pressure pain threshold after virtual reality and the mean difference was -0.41 [CI (95%)= -0.74 to -0.07; p=0.01]. There was no difference in heart rate variability parameters measured during and after virtual reality stimulation.
CONCLUSION:
The group that was exposed to a virtual reality stimulus with scenes from nature showed an increase in the pressure pain threshold. There was no difference in heart rate variability between groups.
Keywords:
Autonomic nervous system; Expression emotion; Heart rate; Virtual reality
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