Abstract
Background: Spatial disorientation is one of the most frequent causes of aircraft accidents, and is thus a major problem affecting air safety. Although a number of studies have examined spatial disorientation, the precise physiological changes occurring as a direct result of spatial disorientation and motion sickness remain unclear. The present study sought to investigate electrodermal activity (EDA) and subjective autonomic symptoms during spatial disorientation training, and to develop an indicator of physiological changes for pilot candidates.Methods: In the current study, we investigated changes in EDA measured using a wrist-worn device, and subjective autonomic nervous system symptoms during spatial disorientation training for pilot candidates. We then used the Graybiel diagnostic criteria to develop a novel physiological biomarker.Results: We found that maximum EDA change and peak amplitude were significantly increased in participants with a Graybiel score of ≥3 points compared with those who scored < 2 points. Furthermore, for symptoms of cold sweating and saliva secretion (from the seven Graybiel diagnostic criteria), the maximum EDA change in participants with scores ≥1 point was significantly higher than that of participants scoring 0 points.Conclusion: Our results indicate that EDA data measured with a wrist-worn device could provide a useful method for objective evaluation of the severity of spatial disorientation and motion sickness.
Highlights
In daily life, our brain subconsciously generates a mental image of our physical body in relation to the surrounding space
We conducted electrodermal activity (EDA) analysis during and immediately after spatial disorientation training (Table 1), and administered a questionnaire about autonomic symptoms experienced during training
We examined the relationship between EDA and autonomic nervous system symptoms
Summary
Our brain subconsciously generates a mental image of our physical body in relation to the surrounding space This image involves inner spatial axes corresponding to direction, position, size, shape, distance, and motion, and this function occurs both at rest and during motion in relation to space [1, 2]. This ability of the brain to reproduce the physical space around us is called spatial orientation. Spatial orientation results from the integration of multiple sensory inputs from the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems in the brain [3, 4]. The present study sought to investigate electrodermal activity (EDA) and subjective autonomic symptoms during spatial disorientation training, and to develop an indicator of physiological changes for pilot candidates
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