Motion sickness is a sensation of nausea resulting from conflicting sensory signals during motion, affecting many individuals in various scenarios like car or sea travel. It is primarily caused when the vestibular system and visual inputs send contradictory messages, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness and vomiting. Treatments can include the use of motion-blocking eyewear, medications, and simple techniques like closing the eyes or seeking fresh air.

1. Motion Sickness
Yutong Zhang

2. What is motion sickness?
The sensation of
nausea caused by
motions, usually in
vehicles such as cars,
boats, and airplanes

3. Symptoms
Nausea / Pale skin / Cold sweat / Vomiting / Dizziness /
Headache / Increased salivation / Fatigue

4. Common forms
- Motion sickness can be
constantly observed in
everyday life:
- Car sickness
- Sea Sickness
- Air Sickness
- Nausea when
watching 3D movies
- Affecting 25% to 40%
percent of population

5. The Vestibular System
- What:
- The sensory system responsible
for sensory information of
balance, equilibrium, and spatial
orientation.
- The brain uses information from
the vestibular system to
understand the body’s positions
and motions.
- Where:
- The inner ear

6. Cause of Motor Sickness
- To navigate motions and keep balance,
humans use eyes (visual), vestibular system
(ears), and proprioception
- The signals arriving at the vestibular system
disagree with visual signals, causing motion
sickness
- Ex: In a car, your eyes fixate on a book. Your
vestibular system senses motions along with
the car, but your eyes do not. This causes
confusion of sensory system and leads to
motion sickness

7. Three General Causes
- Motions felt but not
seen (reading in a
boat)
- Motions seen but not
felt (wearing a virtual
reality goggle)
- Motions seen and
felt but do not
correspond (roller
coaster)

8. Treatments - Device
A motion blocking eyewear
device: Blocking visual
cues outside vehicles to
normalize sensory conflict
between visual input and
vestibular input.

9. Treatments - Simple Activities
- Closing the eyes to resolve
sensory input conflict
- Opening the window of car /
ship to inhale cool air and
lessen nausea
- Napping to avoid psychogenic
effects

10. Treatment - Medication
- Dimenhydrinate
- Scopolamine
- Meclizine
- …

11. Reflection
I have gained a lot of knowledge on neurobiology from the class. But more importantly,
I have become an active observer of everyday life and learned to relate neuroscience facts to
many daily phenomena. I remember as a child, I often wondered why the stars looked
dimmer the moment I turned to them. When learning about the visual system in this
course, the professor lectured on fovea of the human eye lacks rod photoreceptors, thus
explaining the phenomenon. Even now, I can still recall the spark of excitement as I saw
the connections between our brain, other parts of nervous system, and ourselves. The class
has also led me to understand neuro-diseases such as the Alzheimer’s and the Parkinson’s,
and neurodevelopmental disorders such as microcephaly; it deepens my understanding of
the vulnerability of human beings and the difficulties encountered by many. Inspired by the
class, I now want to do more for others and am planning to volunteer in a local service site
helping people with developmental disabilities. This ten-week journey into the human brain
is truly memorable, and I will continue to develop my interest in neuroscience and use the
scientific knowledge as a tool to bring values to more.

12. Sources
“Motion sickness.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness.
“New Views of Motion Sickness.” Vestibular Disorders Association, 18 June 2013, vestibular.org/news/06-18-2013/new-views-
motion-sickness.
“Vestibular system.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular_system.
“Motion Sickness - Topic Overview.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ear-infection/tc/motion-sickness-topic-
overview#1.
“Sense of balance.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_of_balance.
“Motion sickness.” University of Maryland Medical Center, www.umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/motion-sickness.
“ViBAN Eyewear prevents Motion Sickness / Car Sickness. Motion Blocking Eyewear by ViBAN Corporation, Jacksonville, Florida.”
ViBAN eyewear is used to prevent car sickness / motion sickness; is used by pilots for instrument/ IFR training; and is used to focus at
school and work.., www.viban.com/motionsickness.html.
Desai, Alap Naik. “Sunglasses To Cure Motion Sickness?” The Inquisitr, The Inquisitr, 5 May 2014,
www.inquisitr.com/1238509/sunglasses-to-cure-motion-sickness/.

13. Thank you!