The Role of Vision in Producing Motion Sickness

Abstract

To investigate the ways in which visual cues affect the sensation of motion, the visual component was isolated by presenting stationary subjects with a moving visual field. This induced a sensation of vection or illusory self-rotation in the subjects. The effect of various visual variables such as the eccentricity of the visual display and the distance of the display from the plane of focus were investigated by varying the position of a stationary visual reference point. More vection was observed when this reference was held by the subject than when it was secured to ground, and when held in the peripheral visual field. Less vection was observed when the reference was held closer to the subject than the moving visual display. In addition to establishing the role of visual cues in the perception of motion, these results can be helpful in inducing or inhibiting the sensation of motion through visual displays.