Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise: A Treatment for Airsickness in Military Pilots

Abstract

In this article, we present physiological data from 2 male pilots who completed a 6-hr training program for control of motion sickness at National Aeronautic and Space Administration Ames Research Center. The program consisted of an Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise in which research participants learn through operant conditioning techniques to regulate several physiological responses to suppress their symptoms. We evaluated training progress during rotating-chair motion sickness tests. We assessed motion sickness tolerance by calculating the number of cumulative rotations that research participants were able to achieve in the rotating chair prior to reaching their major malaise endpoint. We rated motion sickness symptoms using a standard diagnostic scale. We obtained physiological data from one pilot during a training flight in an F–18 aircraft after completion of his training. Results demonstrate a significant increase in tolerance to laboratory-induced motion sickness tests and a reduction in autonomic nervous system response levels following training. During subsequent flight qualification tests on F–18 and T–38 aircraft, both pilots were successful at controlling their airsickness and were returned to active flight status.