Cowings PS, Toscano WB, Kamiya J, Miller NE, Sharp JC.
Aviat Space Environ Med. 1988 May; 59: 481.
NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035.
INTRODUCTION. Space Adaptation Syndrome is a motion sickness-like disorder which affects up to 50% of all people exposed to microgravity in space. This experiment tested a physiological conditioning procedure (Autogenic Feedback Training, AFT) as an alternative to pharmacological management. METHODS. Four astronauts participated as subjects in this experiment. Crewmen A and B served as treatment subjects. Both received preflight training for control of heart rate, respiration rate, peripheral blood volume, and skin conductance. Crewmen C and D served as controls (i.e., did not receive training). RESULTS. Crewman A showed reliable control of his own physiological responses, and a significant increase in motion sickness tolerance after training. Crewman B, however demonstrated much less learned control and only a moderate increase in motion sickness tolerance was observed after training. The inflight symptom reports and physiological data recordings revealed that Crewman A did not experience any severe symptom episodes during the mission, while Crewman B reported one severe symptom episode. Both control group subjects, C and D, (who took anti-motion sickness medication), reported multiple symptom episodes on mission day 0. CONCLUSIONS. Both inflight data and crew reports indicate that AFT may be an effective countermeasure. Additional data must be obtained inflight (a total of 8 treatment and 8 control subjects) before final evaluation of this treatment can be made.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Astronauts
- Autogenic Training
- Heart Rate
- Learning
- Motion Sickness
- Space Motion Sickness
- Weightlessness
- Weightlessness Simulation
- methods
- NASA Center ARC
- NASA Discipline Neuroscience
- NASA Discipline Number 00-00
- NASA Discipline Number 12-50
- NASA Experiment Number 178195 1/3
- NASA Program Biomedical Research
- NASA Program Flight
Other ID:
UI: 102212567
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