title: Neuropsychiatric observations of proprioceptive sensitivity in motion sickness susceptibility.
abstract: The assessment of motion sickness susceptibility is still an unsolved problem, due in part to its unclear etiology. We studied 16 referred patients suffering from "idiopathic motion sickness" and 4 pilots suffering from motion airsickness. All clinical and neurological tests proved negative, including electroencephalograms, electronystagmograms, Doppler studies, and computerized tomography of the brain. Cervical spine X-rays and personality characteristics were assessed. Simultaneously, 35 asymptomatic pilots and pilot applicants were studied as controls. Both groups were exposed to cross-coupled accelerations on a Barany chair at 15 rpm along with 0.5 Hz head flexions. The pathological group showed a straightened cervical curvature as well as a significantly higher degree of malaise (scale of Graybiel and Lackner). Their personalities were highly alexithymic or obsessive compared to the control group (Kruskal-Wallis Test). Alexithymic and obsessive personalities may express their stress reactions and psychic conflicts through somatic signs, such as cervical muscle contractures; consequently, straightening the cervical spine with the subsequent alteration of proprioceptive inputs to the vestibular nuclei may increase motion sickness susceptibility.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: H O
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Leimann Patt
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Baistrocchi
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Moia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009041:Motion Sickness / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011187:Posture; D011434:Proprioception