Compensatory nystagmus conditioned during adaptation to living in a rotating room

¹ U.S. Naval School of Aviation Medicine, Pensacola, Florida

Seven men were rotated at 5.4 revs/min in a room for 64 hr. Controlled tests before and during this interval demonstrated that disorientation and nystagmus attributable to Coriolis acceleration effects diminished markedly. A compensatory nystagmus, induced by head or whole-body movements, was recorded more than 1 hr after the rotation had ceased. Factors of possible significance in conditioning the compensatory nystagmus are: 1) otolith and proprioceptor sensory influx prior to and during discordant canal input: 2) a consistent sensory influx for each stimulus-producing movement: 3) intention in stimulus-producing movements: 4) visual inhibition. Contributions of compensatory and arousal factors to vestibular suppression are considered in relation to practical problems of transfer of habituation from one acceleration environment to another.