Neurophysiological Measures to Detect Spatial Disorientation

Maintaining spatial orientation in flight remains a critical aspect of aviation safety. Monitoring an aviator's neurophysiological patterns may provide insight and opportunity to mitigate loss of spatial orientation. However, few studies have examined the utility of such measures. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a scoping review to document the research activities that have examined neurophysiological measures in relation to spatial orientation.

Four databases were searched for literature using neurophysiological measures in studies assessing disorientation. The initial search yielded 110,135 articles. After removing duplicates and articles not meeting criteria, nine articles were reviewed.

One of the nine articles used an aviation-relevant task. From the nine articles, evidence suggested roles of the parietal and frontal lobes maintaining orientation. Regarding the aviation-relevant task, the frontal lobe was supported for its involvement in the experience of unidentified spatial disorientation. Across all, the frontal lobe was consistently implicated (support from six studies) for its role in orientation. However, the studies differed in neurophysiological measures and outcomes evaluated. Electroencephalography emerged as a potential candidate for detecting disorientation, with six studies using it as the neurophysiological measurement device.

Although the literature is limited on aviation-relevant tasks, there is strong support for activation patterns in the parietal and frontal lobes for orientation. This provides a starting point for experimental studies to further capture what patterns can be detected from neurophysiology when disorientation is experienced. Further research on aviation applications and using consistent measures is needed to further develop this area of research. Feltman KA, Wilkins J, Persson I, Stonehouse S. Neurophysiological measures to detect spatial disorientation. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2026; 97(3):194-203.