Postural Instability and Motion Sickness in a Fixed-Base Flight Simulator

Abstract

We evaluated the prediction that postural instability would precede the subjective symptoms of motion sickness in a fixed-base flight simulator. Participants sat in a cockpit in a video projection dome and were exposed to optical flow that oscillated in the roll axis with exposure durations typical of flight simulation. The frequencies of oscillation were those that characterize spontaneous postural sway during stance. Head motion was measured prior to and during exposure to imposed optical flow. Of 14 participants, 6 were classified as motion sick, either during or after exposure to the optical oscillation. Prior to the onset of subjective symptoms, head motion among participants who later became sick was significantly greater than among participants who did not become motion sick. We argue that the results support the postural instability theory of motion sickness. Actual or potential applications include the prevention or mitigation of motion sickness in virtual environments.

Control of a virtual ambulation influences body movement and motion sickness

“…This result resembles similar findings from studies of video games [8], virtual environments [6], and vehicle simulators [7].…”

“…This effect has been observed in laboratory devices, virtual environments, flight simulators, and console video games [5][6][7][8]. Interestingly, in console video games postural instability and motion sickness are common among individuals who control the game (i.e., players), and occur in games that depict ambulation (i.e., walking or running) rather than vehicular travel [8].…”

Postural dynamics: Clinical and empirical implications

“…However, in recent studies attempting to determine predictors of motion sickness, it has been found that motion sickness was preceded and predicted by gross disruptions in postural control. [48][49][50] In other words, instability in postural control seems to have led to physiological and behavioral dysfunction.…”

Energy, information, detection, and action

“…Stoffregen et al (1999a;1999b; instructed participants to fixate a distant target or a nearby target while standing. Reliable variations in parameters of postural sway were elicited by changes in the fixation task.…”