top of page
Close up of woman eye in process of scanning.jpg

RESEARCH PROJECTS

VIRTUAL REALITY

450VR.jpg

Virtual reality (VR) systems are becoming more available for people to use and immerse themselves in virtual worlds. Applications have been found across a wide range of disciplines that range from education to healthcare, therapy to marketing.  With the rapid increase in usage, it is critical to understand the ocular impacts of system usage.

Current projects in this area include

  • Skill learning in VR and transfer to the real world

  • Utilizing immersive VR to examine eye-witness accounts

  • Examining the effectiveness of VR facilitating mindfulness

  • Studying avatar usage and its relationship to experienced social presence

  • Using immersive VR to examine biases of non-binary individuals

  • Using a combination of VR and eye-tracking technologies to examine social anxiety

AUGMENTED REALITY

Man playing virtual reality with Microsoft HoloLens

Augmented reality involves using technology to superimpose additional stimuli onto the real world (e.g. Pokemon Go, Snapchat filters).  Despite the heavy usage of this technology, little is known about the relationship between this technology and our visual systems.

Current projects in this area include:

  • Exploring how to utilize AR training for skill development​

  • Comparing AR as a platform for reading compared to other systems

  • Using AR to facilitate visual search in the real world

  • Developing several measures to asses visual fatigue in the field using AR

ZOOM FATIGUE

Video Conference

With the global COVID-19 Pandemic, video conferencing usage has seen a sharp increase that is accompanied by anecdotal accounts of "Zoom Fatigue."  This work examines the ocular impact of extensive video conferencing usage.

Current projects in this area include:

  • Establishing  a validated measure of symptoms experienced from video meetings

  • Examining the impact of self-viewing during video meetings

  • Experienced presence and social presence during Zoom meetings

  • Investigating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic performance, school activities and work behaviors 

ASTHENOPIA

Fatigue From Work. Tired sleepy asian lady feeling eyestrain, holding glasses, rubbing dry

When we perform close work, such as reading a text message on a phone, our eyes rotate to keep the object centered on the retina in a process called vergence, and the lens in our eye thickens to allow the target to remain in focus in a process called accommodation.  This work examines the relationship between these oculomotor systems and the condition asthenopia, or visual discomfort.

Current projects in this area include:

  • Examining symptoms experienced by virtual reality systems

  • Comparing symptoms experienced from different mediums (e.g. tablets, computers, virtual reality headsets)  

  • Examining visual discomfort symptoms associated with augmented reality and the underlying contributin oculomotor systems

ATTENTION

450Attention.jpg

Many forms of attention can be captured using eye-tracking technology and psychophysics.  We utilize a variety of methods to examine different dimensions of attention

Current projects in this area include:

  • Using new mobile eye-tracking technology to examine ocular behaviors related to ADHD symptoms

  • Investigating social media usage (e.g. TikTok) and the impact on visual attention​

TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING

Taking Notes during a Virtual Meeting

With constant technological advancements being used for education, it is critical to understand for technology impacts learning as well as ocular health.

Current projects in this area include:

  • Measuring content retention of Lightboard facilitated learning compared to other mediums

  • Examining video playback speeds on learning

  • Comparing learning facilitated by immersive lectures in VR compared to those delivered via Zoom

  • Investigating the effectiveness of VR supplemental lab activities to facilitate learning in chemistry material.

NEUROIMAGING

The electroencephalogram (EEG) head cap with flat metal discs (electrodes) attached to a w

Electroencephalography (EEG) records patterns of brain activation.  With new mobile EEG systems available on the commercial market, a better understanding of the efficacy of these systems is warranted.

Current projects in this area include:

  • Assessing the efficacy of saline mobile EEG systems for collecting event related potential (ERP) data

  • Comparing reliability of different mobile EEG systems 

COMPLETED RESEARCH

Mindfulness

Previous work in the VISN lab has focused on grapheme color synesthesia.

Projects in this area have included

  • Examination of bi-directional perception in grapheme-color synesthetes

  • Linguistical patterns in synesthetes compared to non-synethestes 

bottom of page