Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic Individuals

Autistic individuals often exhibit superior local visual sensitivity but may struggle with global visual processing, affecting their visuomotor integration (VMI). Goal-directed overhand throwing is common in both the physical environment (PE) and virtual reality (VR) games, demanding spatial and tem...

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Main Authors: Minxin Cheng, Leanne Chukoskie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10891367/
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author Minxin Cheng
Leanne Chukoskie
author_facet Minxin Cheng
Leanne Chukoskie
author_sort Minxin Cheng
collection DOAJ
description Autistic individuals often exhibit superior local visual sensitivity but may struggle with global visual processing, affecting their visuomotor integration (VMI). Goal-directed overhand throwing is common in both the physical environment (PE) and virtual reality (VR) games, demanding spatial and temporal accuracy to perceive position and motion, and precise VMI. Understanding VMI in autistic individuals and exploring supportive designs in VR are crucial for rehabilitation and improving accessibility. We assessed static visuospatial accuracy and VMI with autistic (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n} = 16$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and non-autistic (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n} = 16$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) adults using spatial estimation and overhand throwing tasks with eye and hand tracking, comparing VR to PE. In VR, all participants exhibited reduced visual accuracy, increased visual scanning, and shortened quiet eye duration and eye following duration after the ball release, which led to decreased throwing performance. However, simplifying visual information in VR throwing improved these measures, and resulted in autistic individuals outperforming non-autistic peers.
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spelling doaj-art-bec8e6736e7649ffa11e8409579a7ca02025-08-20T01:52:03ZengIEEEIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering1534-43201558-02102025-01-013382984010.1109/TNSRE.2025.354313110891367Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic IndividualsMinxin Cheng0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7662-3516Leanne Chukoskie1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4041-3646Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Science, Bouv&#x00E9; College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USAPhysical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Science, Bouv&#x00E9; College of Health Sciences Art + Design, College of Arts, Media and Design, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USAAutistic individuals often exhibit superior local visual sensitivity but may struggle with global visual processing, affecting their visuomotor integration (VMI). Goal-directed overhand throwing is common in both the physical environment (PE) and virtual reality (VR) games, demanding spatial and temporal accuracy to perceive position and motion, and precise VMI. Understanding VMI in autistic individuals and exploring supportive designs in VR are crucial for rehabilitation and improving accessibility. We assessed static visuospatial accuracy and VMI with autistic (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n} = 16$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and non-autistic (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${n} = 16$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) adults using spatial estimation and overhand throwing tasks with eye and hand tracking, comparing VR to PE. In VR, all participants exhibited reduced visual accuracy, increased visual scanning, and shortened quiet eye duration and eye following duration after the ball release, which led to decreased throwing performance. However, simplifying visual information in VR throwing improved these measures, and resulted in autistic individuals outperforming non-autistic peers.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10891367/Autism spectrum disorderaccessibilityvisuomotor integrationvirtual reality
spellingShingle Minxin Cheng
Leanne Chukoskie
Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic Individuals
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
Autism spectrum disorder
accessibility
visuomotor integration
virtual reality
title Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic Individuals
title_full Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic Individuals
title_fullStr Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic Individuals
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic Individuals
title_short Impact of Visual Clutter in VR on Visuomotor Integration in Autistic Individuals
title_sort impact of visual clutter in vr on visuomotor integration in autistic individuals
topic Autism spectrum disorder
accessibility
visuomotor integration
virtual reality
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10891367/
work_keys_str_mv AT minxincheng impactofvisualclutterinvronvisuomotorintegrationinautisticindividuals
AT leannechukoskie impactofvisualclutterinvronvisuomotorintegrationinautisticindividuals