Soundscape and Digital Therapeutics: Psycho-physiological Restoration

Abstract

The psychological and physiological indicators derived from studies of urban soundscapes have been suggested to explain the restoration effects of digital treatments using virtual reality (VR) environments. These experiences of virtual spaces that lead to emotional restoration are often related to natural environments such as waterfront and sites with vegetations. Perceptions of VR environments demonstrated that urban areas, including urban parks with traffic noise in the background were also considered as such spaces. VR technology used for experiencing spatial atmospheres creates a realistic audio and visual environment. Accordingly, subjects also respond to a survey on the audiovisual elements of the space. When verifying the restoration effect of soundscapes, physiological responses such as EEG and HRV are investigated along with questionnaire-based psychological responses. In this study, a statistical restoration model was constructed by interpreting psychophysiological responses and deriving the relationship between physical indicators for soundscapes based on such biological signals. However, various natural soundscape contents need to be further studied and produced to expect therapeutic effects.