Fukui Satellite Conference (Special Lecture Prof. Mihashi)

 

Chair: Assoc. Prof. Hiroki Takada, University of Fukui
Email: takada at u-fukui.ac.jp
【15398】Discussion on Brain Activity during Meditation
 Koushin Mihashi 1*), Fumiya Kinoshita 2), Masumi Takada 3)
1) Graduate School of Mathematics, Nagoya University, Japan.
2) Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University, Japan.
 3) Faculty of Nursing and Rehabilitation Department, Chubu Gakuin University, Japan.
* k-mihashi at ic-net.or.jp

Abstract—People are subjected to many stressors in modern life. In modern society, coping with stress is very important. Recently, mindfulness meditation training is being advocated and is attracting a great deal of attention as a countermeasure of stress. In this study, we measured brain activity during meditation by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Skilled/Non-skilled subjects with their eyes closed were stimulated by buzzer for 15 s; thenceforth he/she made calm or still for 60 s. This protocol was repeated 8 times, and finally, we finally had a deal in order to cut off the meditation. In this session, we discuss several characteristics of change in the cerebral blood flow during the above-mentioned meditation and the effect of buzzer stimulation on changes in distribution of the cerebral blood.

 

Welcome Reception at Nagoya (Presentation by Prof. Itamiya)
The Virtual Tsunami using Head-Mounted Display for Disaster Risk Reduction and Education
 Tomoki Itamiya 1*)
1) Aichi University of Technology, Japan.
* takada at u-fukui.ac.jp

Abstract—I have developed a virtual disaster-situation-experience-system using Oculus Rift and a smartphone with Google Cardboard, a low cost head-mounted display (HMD). My system provides special immersive experiences, such as a tsunami attack while driving a car, for example. A person wearing my system’s HMD can visualize the disaster event in an actual representation of the area when it might happen, for instance, Tokyo or Nagoya. They can experience the interior of a car, and a tsunami flood that looks exactly like the real thing by 3D-CG using digital stereo images. A person can have the virtual experience of their car getting washed away and flooded by a horrible tsunami while looking at the situation from the point view of the driver. 2,000 people experienced my system. Everyone who experienced my system actually feels the potential danger of a disaster. The experience is very useful for disaster risk reduction and education. It’s an excellent way to help people become more aware of a perilous risks of a disaster.