Analysis of Motion Sickness Associated Brain Activity Using fNIRS: A Driving Simulator Study

Motion sickness is a common disease encountered in traditional vehicles as well as autonomous vehicles, which will negatively affect user acceptance. To make clear the pathogenesis of motion sickness, this study focused on drivers’ brain activity changes before and after motion sickness happens. Based on the six-degree-of-freedom driving simulator and noninvasive functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a database containing driving operation data synchronized with drivers’ brain activity record from 52 participants was collected under straight and curved driving conditions. The correlation analysis between motion sickness and changes of cerebral oxyhemoglobin concentration in the cerebral cortex was carried out based on this database. Results suggest that brain activity associated with motion sickness may differ under different driving conditions. However, the emergence of motion sickness responses is related to the occipital lobe under both driving conditions. Experimental results corroborate with several theoretical hypothesis about motion sickness in neuroscience. Consequently, this study proposes a new approach to research the mechanism of the correlation between motion sickness and cerebral cortex activity, which will contribute to developing the driving assistance system for preventing or alleviating motion sickness in autonomous vehicles.