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Related Experiment Videos

Human gaze instability during brief exposure to reduced gravity

B S Cheung1, K E Money, I P Howard

  • 1Defense and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, North York, Ontario, Canada.

Journal of Vestibular Research : Equilibrium & Orientation
|January 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary

Gaze stability during microgravity was studied using eye-tracking. Researchers observed torsional and vertical eye movements, particularly when imagining a target, suggesting potential vision degradation during flight maneuvers.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Aerospace Medicine
  • Ophthalmology

Background:

  • Maintaining stable gaze is crucial for visual perception, especially in dynamic environments.
  • Microgravity conditions, such as those experienced during parabolic flights, challenge the vestibular system and eye movement control.
  • Previous research indicated potential alterations in eye movements under altered gravity, but a comprehensive 3D analysis was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the three-dimensional (3D) stability of gaze (horizontal, vertical, torsional) during microgravity.
  • To compare eye movement responses under real versus imagined visual fixation conditions.
  • To understand the underlying mechanisms of gaze control alterations in microgravity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the electromagnetic scleral search-coil technique for precise eye movement recording.

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  • Subjects underwent parabolic flights, experiencing phases of hypergravity and microgravity.
  • Gaze stability was assessed during fixation on both real and imagined targets with immobilized heads.

    • Main Results:

    • Observed significant torsional eye movements in response to reduced gravitoinertial forces under both fixation conditions.
    • No significant horizontal eye movements were detected.
    • Direction-specific vertical nystagmus occurred during transitions between gravity conditions, especially with imagined target fixation, with upward slow phases from hypergravity to microgravity and downward from microgravity to hypergravity.

    Conclusions:

    • Otolithic stimulation changes along the z-axis likely drive the observed vertical eye movements during parabolic flight.
    • The observed reflex eye movements, particularly vertical nystagmus, could potentially impair vision during aircraft maneuvers or turbulence.
    • Gaze stability in microgravity is complex and influenced by visual fixation conditions and vestibular system responses.