Electroencephalography Changes During Cybersickness: Focusing on Delta and Alpha Waves

Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology capable of simulating alternate realities, however, it often leads to cybersickness, causing discomfort for users. We conducted an experiment using a group of 30 participants (aged 25 ± 2.1 years) to see the alpha and delta wave changes for three conditions: Blank, Video, and Video Pause, with electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. The experiments were repeated three times (Trial 1, Trial 2, and Trial 3). The results showed a significant increase in delta wave power for Video compared with the Blank (p < 0.05). Video Pause showed a significant decrease compared to Video. Alpha waves significantly decreased during the Video compared with Blank (p < 0.05). Alpha waves during Video Pause showed a significant increase compared to Video (p < 0.05). Our study showed consistent alterations in alpha and delta waves across various visual stimuli for inducing cybersickness, and we observed that the decrease in alpha waves may be significantly associated with cybersickness rather than visual stimuli. These findings have implications for advancing cybersickness research.