Vection-induced Motion Sickness Research Articles

Bitter taster status predicts susceptibility to vection‐induced motion sickness and nausea

Sensitivity to bitter taste and susceptibility to nausea are both protective mechanisms that guard against toxin ingestion, and both these traits vary within and between populations. Thus, we postulated that they may have co-evolved, such that they are associated. Bitter taster status was determined in 40 subjects (13 men, 27 women) by measuring the differential perceived taste intensity between salt and n-propylthiouracil using a labeled magnitude scale; susceptibility to vection-induced motion sickness and nausea was assessed using an optokinetic drum, a validated multi-symptom scoring scale, and electrogastrography. Taster status distribution was 25% non-tasters (NT), 40% tasters (T), and 35% supertasters (ST). Gender had no impact on this distribution, but females had a higher mean maximum symptom score than males (12.4 ± 1.4 vs 7.3 ± 2.0). Non-tasters displayed a faster and larger increase in mean symptom scores, had a higher percentage of subjects with high maximum symptom scores, and had a higher mean maximum score than T or ST, (14.8 ± 2.6 vs 7.1 ± 1.8, vs 9.8 ± 2.0). Taster status did not affect the gastric myoelectric frequency response to vection. Non-tasters are more susceptible to vection-induced motion sickness and nausea than T or ST, suggesting these two traits may have co-evolved in a reciprocal manner: in environments where the NT trait conferred an evolutionary advantage by enabling intake of fruits and vegetables containing bitter, yet beneficial, phytonutrients, increased nausea susceptibility may have arisen to maintain protection against ingested toxins.

Susceptibility to Nausea and Motion Sickness as a Function of the Menstrual Cycle

The present study examined whether susceptibility to nausea and other symptoms of vection-induced motion sickness vary as a function of phase of the menstrual cycle, as research findings in this area are sparse and contradictory. Ninety young women (42 current users of oral contraceptives) were exposed to a rotating optokinetic drum during the peri-menses or peri-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle in an independent-groups, quasi-experimental design. Nausea and motion sickness symptoms were assessed using the Nausea Profile (NP) and the Subjective Symptoms of Motion Sickness (SSMS) questionnaire. Among women not on oral contraceptives, reports of nausea and motion sickness by women in the peri-menses phase were more severe than reports by women in the peri-ovulatory phase. By contrast, among women taking oral contraceptives, reports of nausea and motion sickness did not differ by the same categorical phase of the menstrual cycle. We speculate that fluctuating estrogen levels over the course of the menstrual cycle may influence the experience of or susceptibility to nausea and motion sickness during illusory self-motion and other nauseogenic contexts.

Gastric Arrhythmia and Nausea of Motion Sickness Induced in Healthy Japanese Subjects Viewing an Optokinetic Rotating Drum

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether nausea or gastric dysrhythmia, including tachygastria, which was determined by electrogastrography (EGG), were observed during optokinetic motion sickness in healthy Japanese volunteers. Twelve volunteers (9 men and 3 women) participated in the study. The subjects were asked to sit in a chair with their heads positioned in the center of a drum whose inside had been painted with black and white stripes. After a 15 min resting period, the drum was rotated at a speed of 60 degree/sec for 15 min. The EGG was continuously recorded for a total of 45 min (15 min resting period, 15 min rotation period, and 15 min recovery period). The severity of nausea was evaluated with a visual analogue scale (VAS) before, immediately after, and 15 min after the cessation of drum rotation. Other motion sickness symptoms were evaluated by scores of subjective symptoms of motion sickness (SSMS). Of 12 subjects who completed the study, 10 complained of nausea immediately after cessation of drum rotation. The VAS score for nausea immediately after the drum rotation period and 15 min after cessation of the rotation was significantly higher than during the resting period. The EGG during the drum rotation period showed a decrease in normogastria, which was accompanied with an increase in tachygastria. We conclude that gastric tachyarrhythmia and nausea may be induced by viewing an optokinetic rotating drum in healthy Japanese subjects who may have a hypersusceptibility to vection-induced motion sickness. The gastric dysrhythmia obtained with EGG could be a useful observation to support the appearance of nausea induced by optokinetic motion sickness.

The effect of liquid carbohydrate and protein meais on gastric tachyarrhythmia and susceptibility to vection-induced motion sickness

The effect of liquid carbohydrate and protein meais on gastric tachyarrhythmia and susceptibility to vection-induced motion sickness

The effect of liquid carbohydrate and protein meais on gastric tachyarrhythmia and susceptibility to vection-induced motion sickness

The effect of liquid carbohydrate and protein meais on gastric tachyarrhythmia and susceptibility to vection-induced motion sickness

Quantifying Scene Movement with ‘Spatial Velocity’ and its Effects on Cybersickness

Viewing wide field-of-view scene movement with a Virtual Reality (VR) display can cause symptoms of cybersickness (e.g., nausea and headache). It has been known that cybersickness is a type of vection-induced motion sickness. Since vection is associated with the perception of moving scene, two studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of different scene movements on levels of cybersickness. The velocity and complexity of the scene movements were quantified by a previously reported metric called ‘spatial velocity (SV)’ while the levels of cybersickness were measured in terms of nausea ratings and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) scores. Results showed that in both experiments, both the nausea ratings and the SSQ total sickness scores increased significantly with increasing SV in the dominant axes of scene movement. Potential uses of the SV metric for formulating a CyberSickness Dose Value (CSDV) are discussed.

Effects of vection-induced motion sickness on gastric myoelectric activity and oral-cecal transit time

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vection-induced motion sickness on three cycle per minute gastric myoelectric activity and oral-cecal transit time. Forty-five subjects were exposed to a rotating optokinetic drum while electrogastrograms and subjective reports of symptoms were monitored. Prior to exposure, baseline breath hydrogen levels were established and subjects ingested vanilla pudding containing 10 g of lactulose. Breath hydrogen measurements were obtained before drum rotation and every 10 minutes after rotation, for 3 hr. Based on the severity of motion sickness symptoms reported, subjects were divided into two groups: a group susceptible to, and a group not susceptible to, vection-induced motion sickness. Averaged across subjects, the percentage of three cycle per minute activity decreased from baseline to rotation (3.6%) and from rotation to recovery (3.0%) [F(2/70)=2.43,P<0.1], with the susceptible group showing a greater overall decrease from baseline to recovery (8.9%), than the nonsusceptible group (4.2%) [F(1/35)=11.16,P<0.01]. The susceptible group had longer average oral-cecal transit times (144 min) than the nonsusceptible group (107 min) [t(36)=3.27,P<0.01]. Furthermore, symptom reports were positively correlated with oral-cecal transit times (r = 0.43, P < 0.05). In conclusion, vection-induced motion sickness is accompanied by decreased gastric three cycle per minute activity and prolonged oral-cecal transit times.

Electrical acustimulation relieves vection-induced motion sickness

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of electrical acustimulation on gastric myoelectric activity and severity of symptoms of motion sickness. In experiment 1, 16 Chinese subjects received electrical acustimulation in one of two sessions. In experiment 2, 45 white and black American subjects were randomly divided into three groups: acustimulation, sham acustimulation, and control. Each subject sat in an optokinetic drum for 15 minutes baseline and 15 minutes of drum rotation. Subjects' electrogastrograms and subjective symptoms of motion sickness were obtained. In experiment 1, the mean symptom score and tachyarrhythmia during acustimulation sessions were significantly lower than during no-acustimulation sessions. In experiment 2, the mean symptom score of the acustimulation group was significantly lower than that of the sham-stimulation group and the control group; tachyarrhythmia in the acustimulation group was significantly less than that of the control group but not the sham-stimulation group. In conclusion, electrical acustimulation reduces the severity of symptoms of motion sickness and appears to decrease gastric tachyarrhythmia.

The effects of fixation and restricted visual field on vection-induced motion sickness : R. M. Stern, S. Hu, R. B. Anderson, H. W. Leibowitz and K. L. Koch 1990 Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine61 (8), 712–715. (4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, 9 references) (in English)

Approximately 60% of healthy human subjects experience motion sickness when exposed to a rotating optokinetic drum. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of certain visual factors on susceptibility to motion sickness. Vection data (illusory self-motion), horizontal eye movement recordings, subjective motion sickness report, and a measure of gastric myoelectric activity (electrogastrogram, EGG) were obtained from 45 subjects, who were randomly divided into the following three groups: a control group that observed the entire visual field with no fixation, a group that fixated on a central target, and a third group that had a visual field restricted to 15 degrees. The experimental session was divided into the following three 12-min periods: baseline, drum rotation, and recovery. The results showed that fixation greatly reduced nystagmus and slightly reduced vection. The restricted visual field slightly reduced nystagmus and greatly reduced vection. Both of these manipulations significantly reduced symptoms of motion sickness and tachyarrhythmia, the abnormal gastric myoelectric activity that usually accompanies nausea.