Visual Control of Habituation to Complex Vestibular Stimulation in Man

Abstract

Twenty men completed an experiment in the Pensacola Slow Rotation Room while it rotated for several hours at a rate of 45 deg/sec. Subjects were immobile (relative to the room) except for habituation series which consisted of head movements restricted to one plane and to a particular quadrant of that plane. Visual problems were presented with each head movement to one group of subjects; another group made all head movements of the habituation series in darkness. Tests conducted in darkness before and after the habituation series revealed pronounced reductions in nystagmus and subjective effects in the practiced quadrant only in the “visual-task” group. The other group showed no reduction of nystagmus in either the practiced or unpracticed quadrant. This experiment considered together with another experiment just completed indicates that vision can be an important factor in habituation of human subjects to vestibular stimulation.