Skin potential reflex corresponding to transient motion discomfort.

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Neuroscience
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Motion discomfort, a common issue in transportation and virtual environments, lacks objective physiological markers.
• The skin potential reflex (SPR) is a physiological response associated with autonomic nervous system arousal.
• Understanding the link between motion stimuli and physiological responses can improve motion sickness countermeasures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the qualitative and quantitative relationship between the degree of motion discomfort and the skin potential reflex (SPR).
• To determine if SPR can serve as an objective physiological measure of transient motion discomfort.

Main Methods:

• Four subjects underwent controlled body rotation at varying angular velocities to induce Coriolis stimuli.
• Head movements were introduced during rotation and rest (control) to elicit motion discomfort and SPR.
• Analysis of SPR parameters including waveform, latency, time-to-peak, and amplitude, specifically the P response.

Main Results:

• Head movements during Coriolis stimulation reliably elicited SPRs in the arousal sweat area.
• The amplitude of the SPR's P response showed a positive correlation with the angular velocity of body rotation.
• Repetitive Coriolis stimulation led to a decrease in the amplitude of the SPR's P response.

Conclusions:

• The amplitude of the P response in the arousal sweat area serves as a quantifiable indicator of transient motion discomfort.
• SPR shows potential as an objective physiological measure for assessing motion discomfort levels.
• Further research can explore SPR for evaluating the efficacy of interventions against motion sickness.