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Electronystagmography and audio potentials in space flightBeginning with the fourth flight of the Space Transport System (STS-4), objective measurements of inner ear function were conducted in near-zero G conditions in earth orbit. The problem of space motion sickness (SMS) was approached much like any disequilibrium problem encountered clinically. However, objective testing techniques had built-in limitations superimposed by the strict parameters inherent in each mission. An attempt was made to objectively characterize SMS, and to first ascertain whether the objective measurements indicated that this disorder was of peripheral or central origin. Electronystagmography and auditory brain stem response recordings were the primary investigative tools. One of the authors (W.E.T.) was a mission specialist on board the orbiter Challenger on the eighth shuttle mission (STS-8) and had the opportunity to make direct and personal observations regarding SMS, an opportunity which has added immeasurably to our understanding of this disorder. Except for two abnormal ENG records, which remain to be explained, the remaining ENG records and all the ABR records made in the weightless environment of space were normal.
Document ID
19930027678
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Thornton, William E.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Biggers, W. P.
(North Carolina Univ. Chapel Hill, United States)
Pool, Sam L.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Thomas, W. G.
(North Carolina Memorial Hospital Chapel Hill, United States)
Thagard, Norman E.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: Laryngoscope
Volume: 95
Issue: 8
ISSN: 0023-852X
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Accession Number
93A11675
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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