Correlation Between Heart Rate and the Severity of Motion Sickness Caused by Optokinetic Stimulation

Abstract

Heart rate has been reported to increase during nausea and has therefore been used as an indicator of motion sickness. However, the relationship between heart rate and subjective ratings of motion sickness has received little attention, and the autonomic origins of any increase in heart rate during motion sickness are unknown. Spectral analysis of heart rate variability can quantify the degree of sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation of the heart, as reflected by the low frequency (LF) power and high frequency (HF) power components, and the ratio of LF:HF power (“autonomic balance”). This experiment investigated changes in heart rate and heart rate variability prior to and during the development of nausea. Forty subjects (20 male, 20 female) sat within an optokinetic drum (a visual stimulus) rotating at 5 rpm for a maximum of 32 minutes. Heart rates, measures of heart rate variability, and ratings of sickness were recorded during a resting pre-exposure period and during optokinetic stimulation. Heart rates increased significantly with increasing subjective ratings of sickness (P < .001). This appeared to be attributable to a net increase in sympathetic stimulation of the heart, (P < .05). Sickness ratings were greater for females than males (P = .09), consistent with a significantly greater history of motion sickness reported by females than males over the previous 12 months (P < .02). The findings suggest that a simple measure of heart rate may be a useful indicator of small changes in the degree of sickness that can be of interest in motion sickness research.

Effect of respiratory modulation on relationship between heart rate variability and motion sickness

“…Results of this study showed that HRVs derived from the recorded ECG signals during low-MS level period differed from the ones during high-MS level period for most of the subjects, consistent with previous HRV studies noted that exposure to motion sickness stimulation would increase cardiac sympathetic while decrease cardiac parasympathetic activities [4,6,13]. However, one subject (atypical) had autonomic responses opposite to those of the majority of the subjects (n=4) during MS exposure.…”

“…After finishing the experiment, each subject was required to fill a MS questionnaire [13] to recall the levels of MS during the experiment. In the questionnaire, the subjects used 6 levels (0 -5) to report their symptoms of MS (with 0=no MS, 1=stomach awareness, 2=stomach discomfort, 3=slight nausea, 4=moderate, 5=severe nausea).…”

EEG-based evaluation system for motion sickness estimation

“…galvanic skin responses (GSR) [6], and heart rate variability (HRV) [7]. In addition, electroencephalography (EEG) has been employed by many studies as an effective motion-sickness index due to its high temporal resolution and portability [2].…”

Effect of Accommodation Training on Visual Function of Visual Inspection Workers and Middle-Aged People

“…Ataxia in simulator-induced sickness has been reported. The influence of videoinduced motion sickness on the body has been measured employing subjective scales, such as the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) [7], and by quantitatively investigating the relationship between external factors and internal conditions using physiological indices [8][9][10][11], such as respiratory function, electrocardiogram, skin electrical activity, fluctuation of the center of gravity, and electrogastrogram.…”