Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026
Video-oculography in Mice
Published on: July 19, 2012
Optokinetic drum tilt hastens the onset of vection-induced motion sickness
Andrea Bubka1, Frederick Bonato
1Department of Psychology, Saint Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ 07306, USA. bubka_a@spc.edu
Background:
Under optokinetic drum conditions, a stationary participant views the patterned interior of a rotating drum. Quickly, most participants perceive illusory self-rotation in the direction opposite to the drum's true rotation (vection). It has been documented that up to 60% of participants experience motion sickness-like symptoms under optokinetic conditions perhaps because of conflicting sensory information from the visual and vestibular systems.
Methods:
Keeping rotation speed constant (10 RPM), drum tilt relative to the axis of rotation was systematically manipulated (0 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees), producing a wobble effect. Overall well-being and eight motion sickness symptoms were assessed every 2 min using subjective scales.
Results:
Participants reported 1) a complex type of circular vection that included a "wobble" or "sway" component and 2) a quicker onset of motion sickness-like symptoms as tilt increased.
Conclusion:
In a tilted drum, the vestibular system correctly indicates that the participant is stationary while the visual system indicates a complex type of self-rotation. This type of sensory conflict is more severe than what takes place under typical optokinetic drum conditions (no tilt). Results suggest that as visual/vestibular sensory conflict increases, so does the speed at which motion sickness symptoms occur.
