Head tilt-induced spatial orientation errors associated with functional vestibular disorders and motion sickness susceptibility during non-driving activities in a moving vehicle.
Youngmin Na, Euncheon Lim, Seonghyeon Kim et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized controlled study examined whether head-tilt-related errors in perceived vertical and horizontal orientation are associated with persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) and motion sickness (MS) during real-world driving. It included 80 participants: 27 healthy controls, 36 people with high MS susceptibility and reported driving-related MS, and 17 patients with PPPD. In virtual testing, the MS and PPPD groups showed ipsiversive errors at head tilts, particularly at ±60°, unlike the contraversive errors in controls; upright errors were negligible. Several tilt conditions had excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC ≥ 0.90).
Key findings
- At ±60° head roll, participants with high MS susceptibility and patients with PPPD showed ipsiversive SVV/SVH errors, while controls showed contraversive deviations.
- Several head-tilt testing conditions demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy, with AUC ≥ 0.90.
- Real-world MS severity correlated with ipsiversive SVV errors, but not with questionnaire-based susceptibility scores.
Why it matters
The findings link altered perception of orientation during head tilt with both PPPD and reported motion sickness, suggesting a measurable feature shared across these conditions. If validated and refined, head-tilt testing could help characterize perceptual disturbances and may inform future assessment of motion-sickness risk in settings such as autonomous vehicles.
What to keep in mind
The study assessed a defined sample in a virtual environment; the abstract notes that further methodological refinement is needed before the test can be used for screening.