Motion sickness produced by head movement as function of rotational velocit

Graybiel, A.

Miller, E. F., II

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

- ---- - -- 
MOTION SICKNESS PRODUCED BY HEAD MOVEMENT 
AS A FUNCTION OF ROTATIONAL VELOCITY 
Egrl F Miller II and h h t m  Graybiel 
J 
JOINT REPORT 
1 
4' R -93 
NAVAL AEROSPACE MEDICAL INSTlTUTE 
HATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19700018943 2020-03-12T02:08:47+00:00Z
This document has been approved for public release and sale; 
i t s  distribution i s  unlimited. 
MOYiON SICKNESS PRODUCED BY HEAD MOVEMENT 
AS A FUNCTION OF ROTATIONAL VELOCIW* 
Earl F. Mi l ler  II and Ashton Graybiel 
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 
MF 1 2.524.005-5024B 
NASA Order T-81633 
NASA Order R-93 
Released by 
Captain M. D. Courtney 
Commanding Officer 
5 March 1970 
"This research was conducted under the sponsonhip sf the Biomedical Research Office, 
Manned Spacecraft Center, and the Off ice of Advanced Research and Technology, 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
NAVAL AEROSPACE MEDICAL INSTITUTE 
NAVAL AEROSPACE MEDICAL CENTER 
PENSACQLA, FLORIDA 3251 2 
SUMMARY PAGE 
"$HE PROBLEM 
$0 measure the stressor s t imulus  effect of rotatiosgai velsaciv in terms of the nurrs-- 
be r  sf the standardized head-til t movements required to evoke a common severiv Ieve l 
sf symptoms characterizing motion sickness, 
The accumulative number of standardized head tilts (approximately 80°) within 
the frontal and sagittal planes that- were executed In reaching the specific test end- 
points of- either mderafe (M 1iA) or severe (M %!!) malaise was recorded at each test 
ue l sc ib ,  Sixteen young healthy subjects were rotated in a Iabomtoy)r chair (Stille) 
af various velocities within a mnge suitabie for each subiect and the limits O F  1.0 to 
30,O p m ,  When individua l abi  i i fy to make  head movements without evoking sympboms 
was exceeded, the average relative stresssr effect ( E  factor) of each hmd movement 
varied directly and,  in log-log terms, linearly withrotational velocity. These data 
provide the h s i s  for gmdirng individual susceptiblli.ly to the Ccariolis Vpe of motion 
sickness with a single numerical score as well as define the high rate of change of 
Coriolis stressor effect as a function sf rotational veloci%, which may find practical 
application in specifying rotational rates of s p c e  stations, 
Motion sickness sassceptibi l i ty can be cssessed eitk-rer by judging the relative 
manifestation of sympt~merteii~gy resulting from a csmmon physical stimulus o r  by 
measuring the magnitude sf the stimulus t h t  provokes a n  essentially equivalent response 
among subjects, The latter experiments l approach became practical with the eerfegori- 
zatfor! and quantification of specific diagnostic symptoms that famed the basis for 
defining five levels of mo"rorr sickness (2)- These diagnostic crikeria were used in a 
related study (6) that infroduced standardized head movements in  combination with 
constant velociv of a rotating chair to evoke a common endpoint in the grading of 
individual susceptibiiliv, Marteed interindividual differences required that the test 
ve loci% be selected from a wide mnge of V Q ~ G ~ S  ( 9.0 Po 30,0 rpm) . For the procedure 
to be effective as well as control !able, the intensiv s f  stressor stimulation, applied 
incremenh l ly In %his case, had to exceed w c h  subject's homeostatic capabil i~y, yet  
fall below the level that would result in the rapid and explosive development of 
symptomatology beyond the preselect4 endpoint, At the proper test veloci"ry the num- 
bee of head movements indicated the relative susceptibiliSy of the subiect, The results, 
however, were difficult to evaluate since the collective magnitude of the stressor 
stimulus was some unlenown product of t.pvo pmmeters (number of head movements and 
chair velociv),  which prevented a direct cornprison of subjects tested at  different 
velocities* 
The purpose of the present study was to debermine the provocative effect sf heed 
movement, in terms of C~r io l i s  (motion) sickness, as a function of angular velocib,  
both for its &sic infomation value as wef i as to establish the required basis for gwding 
individual motion sickness susceptibili'ry with a single numerical score, T h e  latter task 
evolved into determining the average relative effect of a single head movement execu- 
ted a t  each of several rotational velocities within limits that were found to be effective 
for the measurement of a wide spectrum of motion sickness susceptibilities, 
PROCEDURE 
SUBJECTS 
Sixteen young Navy men who demonstrated nomai otolith and semicircular canal 
function in tests of ocular counterrolling (4, 5),and caloric irrigation (3) or oculogyral 
i l lusion threshold ( I ) ,  respectively, were selected as subjects and separated Into Wo 
test groups: Group I ,  five enlisted penonnel and two officem whose ages mnged from 
99 to 26 ywm; Group 2, nine enlisted penonnel, 18 to 20 years of age, Each subject 
remained in his exeellenf. state of health throughout the test period, as verified by the 
Subject's Preexperimentation Questionnaire ( 6 ) .  
The method used in this stu+ of quantitatively grading an individual with respect 
to his susceptibiliSy to Ccariolis sicltness is described in another reps& (6). Essentially, 
t h e  subject wl?ile rotating in a laboratory chair (Stille) at  a cetnsbnt speed is required 
to t i l t  his head, and upper body, as neeessaa-y, fs effect appr~ximatei~ 90" positive Q I I ~  
I I negative displacement of u~is head horn its upright positi~r.: witkin the fro-entaal and sagittal 
planes according to ttaa fo!lav;~ing seqws1;ce: f ront ,  upright, p4~5e; right, upright, 
pause; back, ~pright, pause; ieFt, upright, pause; froill, upright,  rest, EacI-I movement 
* 
i-e;, a new positron or the re turn to uprigkit WQS executed smoothly over a I -second period, 
'The pauses bettteea? movements were t l i f  the same ( 4  second) dui-cttion and t t ~  f i r m !  pogser 
i,e,, tl,le resf bef%veerj Sqger-lC;eSf lasted 20 seeoiids, predetermirie$ et2cipofn$ 
&firled by specific $iagnos"zir; criteria (2) was severe malaise (f*A ig) for Group I and 
, . 
") moderate emalaise (id il;ItA) for Group L* Aftheugh the overt symptoms eha~c" t .e r iz ' i~  
I " tkt.rese enupo~r7is disappeared within a rekatiueiy silsrf period of t ime ,  subsequent testing 
was al;"cys delayed at least 49 j,lou~i; for fbte csroup 1 and 24 i l o u ~  fc:jr $Re Ga,oup 2 
silb;ects, %he  incidence fz.f ?".A we. ;.ecsp+d& for Group 1 strb%ccts as an inciderataj 1 
' e i j  par$ of the procadtare T,caching M B a r  sn%poinf, Tile Pest sch~$u ie  s.f ro,f&;snai 
" 0 
mtes was armngea a i :  a rai-adsrn order trmong fj-le siibiesb swiPI7 the direction (cloeicwise, 
0 
crjviafers:/sckwIse) of rokc;?j-Ian a%$ernatetj and rpm \raP.fed &&veer; ennssc:ut iv~ fesf 
- ? 
sessioals, each of the firsf grijijp of $dJe)i8cf5 was tested once a ~ $  of tkle second group 
, . 
"r C t-dx~ice ah each 0 5  ~e~e ; . a  1 ~e&~cik i r? f i  that was selected at randam fm.cjln among 4 ,0, d,, ; !  
P C' -* j= '" 
.2,tI, /,J, ItJ,O, 'i22G!5, 15,0, 20,0, 25,8, and 38,O rpmf limited $0 tkjat+:fei~c{b~ 
. "  
 hi^&-^* f l - ~ ~ 7 - l  a n  ol~going asla lysir sf ti.@ Pesvjfs, xvgas prs$ictgd to exceed ind;.d-idval 
i - -  . .  - * bl L 1 5  
; , . : r , e g , i l ; s ~ ~ f . ~ ~  a ; I & q k  ify; ,e,, 146; \ i f y  i.0 make  re.l.r>-nted -" ,+> - . iiea$ rne:..iernel.ifs % w l t h s s f  evsi.rrn 
'- 
~yr33ptog-n~ + n-he acc-mu lafive nrjmbe; of head !n~ver~leqt$ caPisfEfu.ie,i +tt ; $  te -. 6 q  i . dv-. -%=A~*P g 8 ~ ~ . . 3 j !  s *  f~ 
~;-sL - - - C 8 
v L l i .  js.,:r,ire \v fh tho f r  ~cit;lg3kf~ the irjdependent vatiabjs, 
*
 
"
 
K
 
9
 
'6 ss 
Ba"~j _(J 
,522 g 
"
 I
 
P
>
s 
0
 
.L- 
s
 
al 
a
m
 
-
 
$63 
&
Ti 3 e 
/---a 
a
.2
 
+- 
.
-
 
C
 
P
e
g
 
ra_. 
-52-2 
o
r
c
w
 
s
oQ
, 
K
 E g 
.
-
 
.
-
 I
 
>
 
c
u
t'- 
-
.
 5
5
 
k
 
S
Lgj 
(S
F
- -
 $
2
 
0
~
 ?
a
 
a
 
3
0
.2
 
b
 
Jm
L
. 
m
6(3 
>
 
.;jSz! 
2
~
2
 
:
-
 8 
K
 
-
 gz-Yj 
4
 
;gg 
I
 ;sg 
6) 
2:u 
=
'Q
a
 
8 
-
5
 
dSyj 
-g3g 
E 2 
.V) 
'$!is 
z
g
d
 
"
2
 ., 
$732 P A 
Figure 2 is the M !/A data of Figure 1 plotted on log-log coordinates and 
fitted empirically ~ 4 t h  straight lines, Thls p lo t  shows that the two prameten (number 
of head movements and rotational v e l a c i ~ ) ,  wh i sh  were equated by a constant response 
QM IBIA) factor, are I Inwr iy related and that this relafiorrship is s imilar  among the 
subjects. 
The task of relating and ssmtainlng the two tssf parameters, as the basis for 
gmdlng motion sickness suscep t lb i i l~  with a sieagls numerical score, cenfered upon 
expresing the findings in terms of an average S~TBSSBI effect sf a s ing le  heed movement 
as a f u n c t i o n  of chair veloeib, In this discussion we refer  to the effect sf head move- 
ment id"b!thou% specifying ik directio!~ s it should be recwnized, however, that the four 
directions of movement used in  the standcrdizd procedure were not a/\vcy.s equally 
stressfu%, and &he most stressful direction, fog%vad# varied in its effect among 
subjects; occasionally a givepa svbieet would even reps~ a change in  the maximal 
directiswa! effect during the test, 
!nasmveh as more data based upon the M tlA endpoint were available, they are 
considered exclusiveiy in  the following analysis, "Fhe lw-log c w r d i ~ ~ a t e  system f a r  
plotting the t-rvmber of heed movements r e q u i r d  to evoke M IIA as a fune"r8on of 
rotat ional  velocifY (Figure 2) depicted the Iridie#iduel rasu!ts in a way kkr?"reossEd be 
best represented by stmight l i ne  CUWesa In this araaiyois $ha impostant characteristic 
o f  the resultant family of curves i s  their slope, which was slmiiar among the subjects 
and apprently independent of t he i r  respective strsceptlbil;% levels, The avemge slope 
thus expressed the provocative effect or" head movement versus velocity in a highly  
representative manner  for our subject popt~il~tion 
The reeiproca! of the aveaage slope is depicted by the straight-line curve of 
Figure 3, which defines the re6a"Bowship Hsee~een the average stressor effect (E Factor) 
- 
of a sing19 head movement and angular ve90c1fy, The E factor scale approximates that 
derived from the reciprocal of the average n u m b e r  a$ kiGad-movements datap but redu*z~$ 
in m a g n i t u d e  in order to l im i t  s u s c e p $ i b l l i ~  scores derived from these E facton to 100 
-- 
points. 
The E factor, expressed as, a func t ion  of rpm, formed the basis for grading 
suscsptibi!Tb by a single nurneiical score. Surceptibiliiy is sirnply determined by 
muBtiplying eke number of head movemenli.s (N) executed in reaching the preselected 
- 
endpoint (M !%A in  this case) times the approprigte E factor, the stressor value of a 
- 
single head msver-nent exacuked eat tl pbtirtisulai- chair veiiocib. The individva! '~ 
resu l tan$ score, representing the cel lective magnihde eof the stressor skirnulub r-equired 
to evoke the endpoint, is termed h i s  Corioiis Sickness Svsceptibiliv Index, e r  CSSI: 
The  m a x i m u m  s u s c e p t i b i / i ~  score (M !&A level) within t h e  range s f  O to 100 points, by 
definition, can he attained owly by ~ r ;  individual wbtl k i l s  to reask 1\& !!A sr dses so 
on!)/ after- esrnpietirrg his 150th I ead motcement whi If: rotafin9 at  26 rpm. This I i r r r ik  has 
A VELOCITY (RPMI 
Figure 2 
M PIA Ekta of Figure 1 Plotted on Lqj-Lag Coordinates with 
Subjects Differentiated by Coded Symbois 
CHAIR VELOCITY (RPM) 
Figure 3 
Relative Stresssr Effect (E Factor) sf a Single Mead Movement, 
Moderate h i a i s e  (M iiA) ~ n d b i n t ,  as a Function of Rotational Vefociy 
6 


CHAIR VELOCITY (RPM) 
Figure 5 
Relative Stressor Effect (E Factor) of a Single Head Movement, 
Severe Malaise (M I l l )  ~ n d ~ z n t ,  as a Function of Rotational Velocity 
9 
REFERENCES 
1. Gra~biel ,  A,, and Hvpp, Be F ,, The scistca-gyrai illusion, A form sf apparent 
mobion which may be observed following stirnutation of the semicircular canals. 
J . aviaf, Med,, 97~3-29, 19445, 
- - -  -- 
2, Graybiel, A,, Wood, C,  D,, Mi i ier ,  E ,  F, 1 1 ,  and Cramer, D, B,, Biagttsstic 
criteria for grading the severib of acute motion sickness, Aerospace Med., 
--
39~453-455, 1968, 
- 
3 ,  McLesd, M, E,, and Meek, J ,  C,, A threshold calor ic test:: Results in  normal 
subjects, N$AM--834, NASA 8-47, Perrsacoia, Fla, : Naval School of' 
Aviation Medicine, 1962, 
4, Miller, E,  F, li, Counterrolling of the human ayes produced by heed ti l t with 
respect to graviPy, Actga 
-
., Stockh,; 54:479-~1, 1961, 
P - 
5 ,  Miller, E ,  F,  I$, Ocular counterrolilng, In: Wolfson, R ,  J ,  (Ed,), - The Vestibular 
and I t s  
--
~hiiodel~hic Pa,: Universiky of Pennsylvania 
Press, 19Q6, Pp 2s-241, 
6, Miller, E ,  F,  t l ,  and Gra~ble l ,  A,, A standardized labomtory means of determining 
susceptibillb to Coriolls (motion) sickness, NAMl-1058, Pensgiicoiea, Fla,: 
Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, 1969, 
7, Miller, E ,  F, I I ,  and Graybiel, A,, Compriissn sf five levels of motion sickness 
severip as the k s i s  for grading susceptibilily , RIAMI-1098, Penwcola, 
Fla,: Naval Aeroswce Medical Institute, 1970, 
t Xl , l+  
-
Naval Aerosmce Medical Institute 
2 b  G R O U P  1 b: 
3 R t i ' O R i  T I T L E  
MOTION SICKNESS PRBBCUED BY HEAD MOVEMEM AS A FUNCTION OF ROTATIONAL. 
VE LOCIW 
-- 
Earl F .  Miller B I  and Ashton Graybiel '1 
p- -A 
6 R E P O R T  D A T E  P E F S  
5 March 1378 
-- 
8'3 C O N T H A C -  O R  G r i A N T  h O  
NASA Order 7-81 633 and R-93 
b P R O J E C T  h O  
BuMed ME1 2.524,805-%24B 
d 
- 
- ! - 
1 C  D I S T R I B U T I O N  S T A - - N E W T  
This document has been approved for reImse and sale; its disrsibuticln is unlimited.  
To rrieas~rs the sfresssr sfirnuius effect of rot~ltional v e l ~ c i t y  tst terms of t h e  number of  
the sitsndordlzed heed "I lk inevements requir~d to e v o k e  a common severib level 0% symptoms 
chcrreac:ferizing rnofior? sickness,  sixtiden young heclaky subjects w e r e  rotated in o lobora8sr)r 
jSti!teb rstationai chair hak verisvs belacities wittlin a mnge suitable for each subieci and the 
I i m i k  of I .BS to 30,O rpm. Sfcndardized 9oQ Iwad movements were executed at each test 
veloclPy unti l  %he preselected avld detern~ined motion sickness endpoin t  of mwJemte 
(ki ![A) or severe (h4 ili) malaise was r~achad, kVhen rfidividua! crbiliv to laake head m o v e m n I s  
without evoking sympforns was exceeded tile derived average stressor effect ( E  - factor) of each 
21zad m o v e m e n t  vcrr;sd direc;Py and, i n  log-log $err-ns, [ineariy wi fk  rotational velseliy , These 
data provide the basis for grading individual suscep+;bi$l% to Csriolis (motion) sickness with a 
single numerical score as well  QS define &he high iake of change of Ceriolls sbessor effect as a 
Funcklan O F  rotafiona/ velo~ilby, which nray find ~aructieal  application for specifying rotational 
mtes of s p c e  sfa:ions, 



Motion sickness produced by head movement as a function of rotational velocity

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server