A theory for treating dizziness due to optical flow (visual vertigo).

Virtual reality (VR) training that provides optic flow stimuli and visuo-vestibular conflict has been suggested as a way to treat patients with inappropriate visual dependence (sometimes called visual vertigo even though spinning sensation is often absent). We propose a simple framework based on a hypothesis that the degree of dizziness depends on the offsetting between the destabilizing effect of optical flow and the stabilizing effect provided by stationary objects in the visual field. We define a total destabilizing potential (TDP), which is the ratio of the destabilizing effect over the stabilizing effect.