Mixing transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation and galvanic cutaneous stimulation to decrease simulator adaptation syndrome
Germán Galvéz-García, Patricio Mena‐Chamorro, Tomás Espinoza‐Palavicino, Tatiana Romero-Arias, Mauricio Barramuño-Medina, Claudio Bascour–Sandoval · Frontiers in Psychology · 2024
Purpose: Simulator Adaptation Syndrome arises from a perceptual discordance between expected and actual motion, giving rise to symptoms such as nausea and disorientation. This research focused on determining the benefit of Transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) and Galvanic Cutaneous Stimulation (GCS), where both were applied in conjunction, as compared to their administration in isolation, to decrease Simulator Adaptation Syndrome (SAS). Method: A driving simulation study was proposed where SAS, body balance, and driving performance were measured. These measurements were taken during seven different stimulation scenarios with a baseline condition without stimulation compared against tVNS and GCS conditions. Results: The main result showed that the combination of tVNS and GCS reduced SAS and improved body balance and driving performance more successfully than their administration in isolation. Conclusion: Similar neuromodulation in the temporoparietal junction is proposed to mitigate SAS for GCS and tVNS (although additional explanations are discussed). Applying both techniques simultaneously is encouraged to decrease SAS in future interventions.