The Ocular Command Center: How Eye Responses to Luminance, Color, Tunneling, and Visual Suppression Mediate Users' Physiological States in VR

This work introduces the Ocular Command Center framework to investigate how eye responses mediate visual effects on physiology and user experience in virtual reality. In a controlled study (N=40), participants experienced variations in luminance, color temperature, peripheral occlusion, and periodic visual suppression while eye activity (pupil size, blinks, fixations, and saccades), cardiovascular responses (heart rate and heart rate variability), and subjective symptoms were measured. Luminance changes affected heart rate through pupillary reflexes. Color temperature affected heart rate variability without pupillary mediation, suggesting appraisal processes, and induced severe nausea. Peripheral occlusion and visual suppression modified oculomotor behavior without substantial cardiovascular effects. These findings demonstrate that visual manipulations could act through distinct reflexive, cognitive, and perceptual pathways, and not all extend equally to systemic physiology. This foundation supports adaptive VR design, regulating comfort, engagement, and physiological state.