Motion-Sickness Related Brain Areas and EEG Power Activates

Abstract

This study investigates electroencephalographic (EEG) correlates of motion sickness in a virtual-reality based driving simulator. The driving simulator comprised an actual automobile mounted on a Stewart motion platform with six degrees of freedom, providing both visual and vestibular stimulations to induce motion-sickness in a manner that is close to that in daily life. EEG data were acquired at a sampling rate of 500 Hz using a 32-channel EEG system. The acquired EEG signals were analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA) and time-frequency analysis to assess EEG correlates of motion sickness. Subject's degree of motion-sickness was simultaneously and continuously reported using an onsite joystick, providing non-stop psychophysical references to the recorded EEG changes. Five Motion-sickness related brain processes with equivalent dipoles located in the left motor, the parietal, the right motor, the occipital and the occipital midline areas were consistently identified across all subjects. These components exhibited distinct spectral suppressions or augmentation in motion sickness. The results of this study could lead to a practical human-machine interface for noninvasive monitoring of motion sickness of drivers or passengers in real-world environments.