Key result
Motion sickness during simulated driving is linked to increased visual cortex brain activity.
Why the study?
Motion sickness negatively affects user acceptance of traditional and autonomous vehicles, but the brain activity changes associated with motion sickness are not well understood.
Observational (n=52)
No
Motion sickness during simulated driving is associated with changes in cerebral oxyhemoglobin concentration in the occipital lobe, which may inform future driving assistance systems.
May inform simulation-based countermeasures for motion sickness; hypothesis-generating and requires validation before any clinical or real-world application.
Motion sickness is a common disease encountered in traditional vehicles as well as autonomous vehicles, which will negatively affect user acceptance. To make clear the pathogenesis of motion sickness, this study focused on drivers' brain activity changes before and after motion sickness happens. Based on the six-degree-of-freedom driving simulator and noninvasive functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a database containing driving operation data synchronized with drivers' brain activity record from 52 participants was collected under straight and curved driving conditions. The correlation analysis between motion sickness and changes of cerebral oxyhemoglobin concentration in the cerebral cortex was carried out based on this database. Results suggest that brain activity associated with motion sickness may differ under different driving conditions. However, the emergence of motion sickness responses is related to the occipital lobe under both driving conditions. Experimental results corroborate with several theoretical hypothesis about motion sickness in neuroscience. Consequently, this study proposes a new approach to research the mechanism of the correlation between motion sickness and cerebral cortex activity, which will contribute to developing the driving assistance system for preventing or alleviating motion sickness in autonomous vehicles.
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Zhang et al. (2020) conducted an observational in Motion sickness (n=52). Driving simulator exposure (straight and curved driving conditions) vs. Baseline (before motion sickness onset) was evaluated on Changes in cerebral oxyhemoglobin concentration (ΔCOE) before and after motion sickness onset (p=<0.01). Motion sickness during simulated driving was significantly associated with increased brain activity in the visual cortex of the occipital lobe (channels 37 and 39, p<0.01) under both straight and curved driving conditions.
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