Etiology and treatment of motion sickness: a review.

Pitman JR, Yolton RL.

The role of vision in motion sickness has often been either exaggerated or ignored. After examining some early theories of motion sickness, this review discusses the sensory conflict theory and visual aspects of motion sickness. A wide range of preventative measures, both optometric and non-optometric, are presented to give the vision care specialist some practical solutions to the problem of motion distress.

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Physiological and psychological correlates of motion sickness.

Bick PA.

Motion sickness (MS)has been inconclusively associated with personality and physical vestibular functioning in both males and females. The present work consisted of six tests: test of field dependency; pure balance test; motion sickness questionnaire; body steadiness test; primary suggestibility test; resistance to disturbance test. In addition the EPI was completed by a proportion of subjects. Male and female data for the 15 male and 15 female subjects in an age range 20 to 30 years, obtained from within Bedford College, University of London, were factor analysed separately. The results show that, firstly, field dependence, as understood by Witkin, is not associated with any of the factor and correlated significantly (r = 0.83, P less than 0.001; two-tailed test). The same correlation in women was not significantly (r = 0.17). For females, MS and neuroticism appeared on the same factor and correlated significantly (r = 0.62, P less than 0.05; two tailed test). The same correlation in men was not significant (r = 0.06). This suggests that MS in females is associated primarily with neuroticism, whereas in males it is associated with vestibular disturbance thresholds.

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Etiological factors in space motion sickness.

Lackner JR, Graybiel A.

We compared susceptibility to motion sickness during exposure to sudden-stop stimulation as a function of gravitoinertial force level. Our findings show that susceptibility is greatly enhanced, both with eyes-closed and eyes-open, for zero-g and 2-g conditions in parabolic flight compared with 1-g test conditions. The change in susceptibility is likely related to three factors: alterations in vestibulo-ocular function which result from variations in gravitoinertial force level (28,29); the altered pattern of otolithic activity resulting during variations in gravitoinertial force level; and the altered canal-otolith response synergies that result during exposure to gravitoinertial force levels greater or less than terrestrial levels. These factors are shown to be related to the etiology of space motion sickness and to the alterations in performance and vestibular function that are experienced by astronauts during reentry. An explanation is also proposed for the decrease in susceptibility to motion sickness exhibited by the Skylab astronauts inflight and for some period postflight during exposure to cross-coupled angular accelerations.

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Transdermal scopolamine in the prevention of motion sickness: evaluation of the time course of efficacy.

Homick JL, Kohl RL, Reschke MF, Degioanni J, Cintron-Trevino NM.

This study evaluated the time course of efficacy of transdermal scopolamine in the prevention of motion sickness induced by exposure to coriolis stimulation in a rotating chair. We measured levels of efficacy, quantified side effects and symptoms, and determined inter- and intra-subject variability following use of transdermal scopolamine. The response to transdermal scopolamine was highly variable, although overall we recorded a 40% improvement (p less than 0.05) in test scores 16-72 h after application of the transdermal system. This variability could not be explained solely by the levels of scopolamine present in the blood. The improvement was not due to the artifactual repression by scopolamine of selected symptoms of motion sickness. An unexpectedly high incidence of side effects was reported. It was concluded that the therapeutic use of transdermal scopolamine be evaluated individually and that individuals be cautioned that subsequent usage may not always be effective.

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Sensory and motor conflict in motion sickness.

Watt DG.

Motion sickness occurs in a wide variety of circumstances involving real or apparent motion, many of them novel and man-made. Significantly, voluntary body movements rarely result in symptoms, and the likelihood of motion sickness is greatly reduced by having control of the vehicle in which one is riding. The unifying theory of Reason [1978] proposes that motion sickness results when there is a mismatch between predicted and actual sensory inputs. Hence, the less predictable the sensory input (because it results from an externally imposed motion, or from motion which results in errors of neural transduction), the more likely that motion sickness will develop. With continuing exposure, predictability increases and adaptation to motion sickness occurs.

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Motion sickness.

Lovan WD.

Motion sickness affects approximately 90 percent of the population at some time during life, and for many the problem is recurrent and severe. Labyrinthine-defective individuals are "immune." Adaptation is highly specific to one type of motion. Recent studies have focused on the role of the limbic system in mechanisms of motion sickness. Medications are sometimes useful, but they have a high incidence of side effects. Oral agents are ineffective after symptoms develop.

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Motion sickness susceptibility in student navigators.

Royal L, Jessen B, Wilkins M.

Identification of individuals highly susceptible to motion sickness could be of significant benefit in managing flying personnel in training. Several studies in the past four decades with this end have been primarily aimed at pilot trainees. The following study is a prospective evaluation of airsickness in Air Force navigation students. Motion Sickness Questionnaires and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories were given to the students at the beginning of navigator training. Airsickness was assessed by means of questionnaires and evaluation by a flight surgeon. Motion sickness among navigation trainees was found to be quite common. However, prediction of susceptible individuals by methods used was not reliable. Further investigation of airsickness susceptibility in navigation students by means of physiologic techniques is suggested.

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Motion sickness in quail: body-rotation-induced conditioned fluid aversions in C. coturnix japonica.

Ossenkopp KP, Tu GS.

The presence of motion sickness in Japanese quail (C. coturnix japonica) was examined by using a conditioned fluid aversion as an index. Twenty-three birds were divided into three groups. One group received a novel fluid (yellow-sour water) followed by 30 min of body rotation at 70 rpm (on a schedule of 15 s on and 5 s off). Another group received the novel fluid followed by exposure to a sham rotation procedure. The third group experienced the rotation procedure following access to water. The group receiving the rotation procedure contingent on presentation of the novel fluid exhibited a conditioned aversion to this fluid (relative to the control groups) over days of acquisition (p less than .025) which subsequently dissipated when rotation was no longer contingent on the presentation of the yellow-sour water (extinction). These data thus demonstrate the presence of motion sickness in a gallinaceous species as indexed by a conditioned fluid aversion procedure.

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