Virtual reality training improves balance function

Yurong Mao, Peiming Chen, L. Li, Dongfeng Huang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

Virtual reality is a new technology that simulates a three-dimensional virtual world on a computer and enables the generation of visual, audio, and haptic feedback for the full immersion of users. Users can interact with and observe objects in three-dimensional visual space without limitation. At present, virtual reality training has been widely used in rehabilitation therapy for balance dysfunction. This paper summarizes related articles and other articles suggesting that virtual reality training can improve balance dysfunction in patients after neurological diseases. When patients perform virtual reality training, the prefrontal, parietal cortical areas and other motor cortical networks are activated. These activations may be involved in the reconstruction of neurons in the cerebral cortex. Growing evidence from clinical studies reveals that virtual reality training improves the neurological function of patients with spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy and other neurological impairments. These findings suggest that virtual reality training can activate the cerebral cortex and improve the spatial orientation capacity of patients, thus facilitating the cortex to control balance and increase motion function.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1628-1634
Number of pages7
JournalNeural Regeneration Research
Volume9
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Balance
  • Balance dysfunction
  • Brain injury
  • Mechanism
  • Nerve regeneration
  • Neural plasticity
  • Neural regeneration
  • NSFC grant
  • Proprioception
  • Rehabilitation
  • Reviews
  • Sensorimotor function
  • Somatosensory
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Stroke
  • Vestibule
  • Virtual reality
  • Vision

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Virtual reality training improves balance function'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this