“Torso Rotation” Experiments; 2: Gaze Stability During Voluntary Head Movements Improves with Adaptation to Motion Sickness

Abstract

Following a 30-minute exposure to an unusual motor strategy called "Torso Rotation" (TR), the signs and symptoms of motion sickness appear along with perceptual illusions during movement, gaze and postural instability, and a significantly reduced vestibulo-ocular response (VOR) gain. With repeated exposure to TR, motion sickness symptoms disappear and gaze instability seems reduced, but without any concomitant change in VOR gain. Is the reduction in gaze instability a perceptual illusion or a real, measurable phenomenon? Velocity gain (eye velocity/ head velocity) was evaluated during voluntary head shaking in the light over the frequency range 0.3 to 3.0 Hz. A significant improvement was seen after 3 days of testing (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the time course of improvement in gaze stability was correlated with the loss of motion sickness symptoms reported in the previous study (1). We suggest that adaptation to motion sickness could be related to an overall change in sensori-motor strategy, perhaps including a de-emphasis of a vestibular reference.