General autonomic components of motion sickness.

This report refers to a body of investigations performed in support of experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, and designed to counteract the symptoms of Space Adapatation Syndrome, which resemble those of motion sickness on Earth. For these supporting studies we examined the autonomic manifestations of earth-based motion sickness. Heart rate, respiration rate, finger pulse volume and basal skin resistance were measured on 127 men and women before, during and after exposure to nauseogenic rotating chair tests. Significant changes in all autonomic responses were observed across the tests (p<.05). Significant differences in autonomic responses among groups divided according to motion sickness susceptibility were also observed (p<.05). Results suggest that the examination of autonomic responses as an objective indicator of motion sickness malaise is warranted and may contribute to the overall understanding of the syndrome on Earth and in Space. DESCRIPTORS: heart rate, respiration rate, finger pulse volume, skin resistance, biofeedback, motion sickness.