DEVELOPMENT OF SPACE MOTION SICKNESS IN A GROUND-BASED HUMAN CENTRIFUGE

Adaptation of the vestibular system, specifically the otolith organs, to a non-terrestrial environment can result in space motion sickness-l ike symptoms when the human is reintroduced to the normal, 1 Gz, terre strial environment. This premise was investigated by exposing nine sub jects to 90 min of sustained 2 Gz acceleration in a human centrifuge a nd then observing and evaluating them at 1 Gz. Five of the subjects de veloped slight SMS symptoms, three developed moderate, and one develop ed frank sickness. Postural instabilities in two of the most affected subjects were also observed using the Equitest System post exposure. L ong duration exposure to a non-terrestrial G(2Gz) appears to be a pote ntial means for developing SMS-like symptoms in a ground-based human c entrifuge. Copyright (C) 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd