A Novel Habituation Strategy to Motion Sickness During Centrifugation

Abstract

Artificial gravity through centrifugation is currently the only countermeasure providing the "Earth-like" solution to weightless health hazards. Motion sickens occurs when individuals are exposed to passive motion inducing a mismatch between actual and expected sensory inputs. Habituation protocols abate conflicts by reducing response to rotation with prolonged exposure to mismatch. Our aim is to develop a novel habituation strategy to disentangle gravity and rotation perception, reducing motion sickness but retaining response to rotation. Habituation to motion sickness using different habituation stimulus with different protocols has been done successfully. Subjects habituate even if illusory rotation induced by head tilts is sustained by visually induced rotation sensation. Visually reinforced habituation may induce less reduction of oculomotor response to rotation.