Visually induced vertigo, or motion sickness, is thought to be mainly
influenced by motion perception, not by shape perception. We examined
this point by comparing the effect of the foveal vision on the visuall
y induced vertigo with that of the peripheral vision. We set up three
kinds of display conditions: Foveal vision (F), peripheral vision (P),
and foveal + peripheral vision (F + P). Videotaped motion was present
ed on the display. The results showed that a drifting eye movement was
larger after the experiment than before the experiment in the (P) and
the (F + P) conditions, but not in the (F) condition. In addition, th
e mirror drawing was improved only in the (F) condition. Subjective ra
tings For the vertigo were higher in both the (P) and the (F + P) cond
itions than in the (F) condition. These results indicate that some vis
ual units concerning low spatial frequencies participate in the visual
ly induced vertigo.