During flight in aircraft and spacecraft, pilots are regularly subjected to unusual force environments. These forces not only influence a variety of pressure-sensitive mechanisms but, in particular, they stimulate the vestibular mechanism of the inner ear. The latter source of information regarding spatial orientation may be in accord with information from direct visual stimulation or it may be in conflict with it. In the first case, veridical space perception may be expected, while in the second the perception is frequently nonveridical. This results in constant errors in judgment with respect to motion of visual objects and in the pilot's estimates of the objects' position. These errors, referred to by pilots as “vertigo,” are believed to be of importance in piloting aircraft and spacecraft where the pilot's task involves actions based on visual space perception.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AshanG.Responses to rotary stimuli in fighter pilots. Acta otolaryng. Stockh., 1954, Suppl. 116, 24–31.
2.
BennettA. M. H.Sensory deprivation in aviation. In SolomenP. (Eds.) Sensory deprivation. Cambridge, Harvard University Press1961.
BrandtU.The cause and practical importance of oculogravic illusions. Acta otolaryng. Stockh., 1962, 54, 127–135.
5.
BrownJ. L. (Ed.) Sensory and perceptual problems related to space flight. Washington: Nat. Acad. Sci.—Nat. Research Council, 1961, Publ. No. 872.
6.
ClarkB.GraybielA.Apparent rotation of a fixed target associated with linear acceleration in flight. Amer. J. Ophthal.1949a, 32, 549–557.
7.
ClarkB.GraybielA.The effects of angular acceleration on sound localization. J. Psychol., 1949b, 28, 235–244.
8.
ClarkB.GraybielA.Vertigo as a cause of pilot error in jet aircraft. J. aviat. Med., 1957, 28, 469–478.
9.
ClarkB.GraybielA.Visual perception of the horizontal during prolonged exposure to radial acceleration on a centrifuge. Jlexp. Psychol., 1962, 63, 294–301.
10.
ClarkB.GraybielA.Contributing factors in the perception of the oculogravic illusion. Amer. J. Psychol., in press.
11.
ClarkB.GraybielA.MacCorquodaleK.The illusory perception of movement caused by angular acceleration and centrifugal force during flight. II. Visually perceived motion and displacement of a fixed target during turns. J. exp. Psychol., 1948, 38, 298–309.
12.
ClarkB.MacCorquodaleK.The effects of repeated rotary acceleration on the oculogyral illusion. J. exp. Psychol., 1949, 39, 219–227.
13.
ClarkB.StewartJ. D.Perception of angular acceleration about the yaw axis of a flight simulator: Thresholds and reaction latency for research pilots. Aerospace Med. Assoc. Meeting, April, 1962.
14.
DemberW. N.The psychology of perceptionNew York: Holt, 1960.
15.
DohlmanG.On the mechanism of transformation of the semicircular canals. Acta otolaryng. Stockh., 1938, 26, 425–442.
16.
van EgmondA. A. J.GroenJ. J.JongkeesL. B. W.The function of the vestibular organ. Practica Otorin.-laryngologica, 1952, 14, Suppl. No. 2.
17.
EkJ.JongkeesL. B. W.KlijnJ. A. J.On the effect of continuous acceleration. Acta otolaryng. Stock., 1960, 51, 416–419.
18.
GerathewohlS. J.Physics and psychophysics of weightlessness: Visual perception. J. aviat. Med., 1952, 23, 373–395.
19.
GerathewohlS. J.StallingsH. D.Experiments during weightlessness: A study of the oculo-agravic illusion. J. aviat. Med., 1958, 29, 504–516.
20.
GernandtB.The effect of centrifugal force upon the nerve discharge from the horizontal canal. Acta physiol. Scand., 1950, 21, 61–72.
21.
GernandtB. E.Vestibular mechanism. In FieldJ. (Ed.), Handbook of physiology, Section 1: Neurophysiology. Washington, D.C.: Amer. Physiol. Soc.1969.
22.
GibsonJ. J.The relation between visual and postural determinants of the phenomenal vertical. Psychol. Rev., 1952, 59, 370–375.
23.
GlennJ. H.Jr.Pilot's flight report. In Results of the first U.S. manned orbital space flight, February 20, 1962. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Manned Space Craft Center. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govn. Printing Office, 1962a.
24.
GlennJ. H.Jr.The Mercury-Atlas-6 space flight. Science, 1962b, 136, 1093–1095.
25.
GoldsteinA. G.Linear acceleration and apparent distance. Perceptual motor skills, 1959, 9, 267–269.
GraybielA.The effects on vision produced by stimulation of the semicircular canals by angular acceleration and stimulation of the otolith organs by linear acceleration. In WhiteC. S.BensonO. O.Jr. (Eds.), Physics and medicine of the upper atmosphere. Albuquerque: Univer. New Mexico Press1952b.
28.
GraybielA.ClarkB.Duration of oculogyral illusion as a function of the interval between angular acceleration and deceleration. Its significance in terms of dynamics of semicircular canals in man. J. appl. Physiol., 1952, 5, 147–152.
29.
GraybielA.ClarkB.MacCorquodaleK.HuppD. I.The role of vestibular nystagmus in the visual perception of a moving target in the dark. Amer. J. Psychol., 1946, 59, 259–266.
30.
GraybielA.ClarkB.ZarrielloJ. J.Observations on human subjects living in a “slow rotation room” for periods of two days. A.M.A. Arch. Neurol., 1960, 3, 55–73.
31.
GraybielA.GuedryF. E.JohnsonW.KennedyR.Adaptation to bizarre stimulation of the semicircular canals as indicated by the oculogyral illusion. Aerospace Med., 1961, 32, 321–327.
32.
GraybielA.HuppD. I.The oculogyral illusion. J. aviat. Med., 1946, 17, 3–27.
33.
GraybielA.PattersonJ. L.Thresholds of stimulation of the otolith organs as indicated by the oculogravic illusion. J. appl. Physiol., 1955, 7, 666–670.
34.
GroenJ. J.Problems of the semicircular canal from a mechanico-physiological point of view. Acta otolaryng. Stockh., 1961a, Suppl. 163, 59–66.
35.
GroenJ. J.The problems of the spinning top applied to the semi-circular canals. Confin. neurol., 1961b, 21, 454–455.
36.
GuedryF. E.CollinsW. E.SheffeyP. L.Perceptual and oculomotor reactions to interacting visual and vestibular stimulation. Perceptual motor skills, 1961, 12, 307–324.
37.
GuedryF. E.GraybielA.Compensatory nystagmus conditions during adaptation to living in a rotating room. J. appl. Phsyiol., 1962, 17, 389–404.
38.
GuedryF. E.MontagueK. E.Quantitative evaluation of the vestibular Coriolis reaction. Aerospace Med., 1961, 32, 487–500.
39.
JonesI. H.Equilibrium and vertigoNew York: Lippencott, 1918.
40.
LansbergM. P.The function of the vestibular sense organ and the construction of a satellite. Aeromedica Acta, 1957, 6, 69–77.
41.
LondonI. D.Research on sensory interaction in the Soviet Union. Psychol. Bull., 1954, 51, 531–568.
42.
MedaE.A research on the threshold for the Coriolis and Purkinje phenomena of excitation of the semicircular canals. Transl. fromArchivio di Fisiologia, 1952, 52, 116–134, by E. R. Hope. Defense Scientific Information Service, DRB, Canada, 1954, T17I.
43.
MillerJ. W. (Ed.) Visual problems of space travelWashington: Nat. Acad. Sci.—Nat. Research Council, 1962.
44.
MorantR. B.The visual perception of the median plane as influenced by labyrinthine stimulation. J. Psychol., 1959, 47, 25–35.
45.
MygindS. H.The function and the diseases of the labyrinth. Acta otolaryng. Stockh., 1952, 41, 235–321.
46.
NuttallJ. B.SanfordW. G.Spatial disorientation in flight. In EvardE. (Eds.) Medical aspects of flight safetyNew York: Pergamon, 1959.
47.
RomanJ. A.WarrenB. H.NivenJ. I.GraybielA.Some observations on the behavior of a visual target and a visual after-image during parabolic flight maneuvers. School Aerospace Medicine, Technical Division Report, 62–66, June 1962. School Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas.
48.
RomanJ. A.WareR. W.AdamsR. M.WarrenB. H.KahnA. R.School of Aerospace Medicine physiological studies in high performance aircraft. Aerospace Med., 1962, 33, 412–419.
49.
SchockG. J. D.Apparent motion of a fixed luminous target during subgravity trajectories. AFMDC TN 58–3 AD 135009, A.F. Missile Develp. Center, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, 1958.
50.
VilstrupT.Structure and function of the membranous sacs of the labyrinthCopenhagen: E. Munksgaard, 1951.
51.
VilstrupTh.JensenC. E.On the displacement potential in acid mucopolysacchrides. Acta otolaryng. Stockh., 1960, Suppl. 163, 42–46.
52.
VogelsangC. J.The perception of a visual object during stimulation of the vestibular system. Acta otolaryng. Stockh., 1961, 53, 461–469.
53.
WapnerS.WernerH.MorantR. B.Experiments on sensory-tonic field theory of perception: III. Effect of body rotation on the visual perception of verticality. J. exp. Psychol., 1951, 42, 351–357.
54.
WendtG. R.Vestibular functions. In StevensS. S., Handbook of experimental psychology (edited by StevensS. S.). New York: Wiley, 1951.
55.
WhitesideT. C. D.The problem of vision in flight at high altitudesLondon: Butterworth's Scientific Publications, 1957.
56.
WhitesideT. C. D.CampbellF. W.Size constancy effect during angular and radial acceleration. Quart. J. exper. Psychol., 1959, 11, 249.
57.
WitkinH. A.AschS. E.Studies in space orientation. III. Perception of the upright in the absence of a visual field. J. exp. Psychol., 1948, 38, 603–614.
