THE EFFECT OF SEMICIRCULAR CANAL STIMULATION DURING TILTING ON THE SUBSEQUENT PERCEPTION OF THE VISUAL VERTICAL,
Abstract
When a man is accelerated on a centrifuge, the direction of gravitoinertial vertical changes relative to his body. However, a lag occurs in his perception of this change. The hypothesis has been advanced that the perceptual lag in this situation is partly the result of a conflict between signals arising from the semicircular canals and from the otolith organs. To test this hypothesis, subjects were tilted in such a way that they received consistent semicircular canal and otolith signals. This was accomplished simply by tilting them 30 deg from upright in their frontal plane. Immediately after being tilted, these subjects made estimates of the vertical which were approximately accurate, and they continued to make accurate estimates throughout a 140-sec judgment period. The absence of a perceptual lag under these circumstances supports the hypothesis. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 24, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0700908
Entities
People
- Charles W. Stockwell
- Fred E. Guedry Jr.
Organizations
- Naval Aerospace Medical Institute