Effects of decades of physical driving experience on pre-exposure postural precursors of motion sickness among virtual passengers

Previous research has shown that motion sickness associated with virtual vehicles is more common among passengers than among drivers. Separately, other studies have shown that postural precursors of motion sickness during virtual driving differ as a function of prior experience driving physical vehicles. We investigated the intersection of those prior effects: We asked whether decades of physical driving experience 1) would influence motion sickness among passengers in a virtual vehicle, and 2) would influence postural precursors of motion sickness among passengers in a virtual vehicle. In our study, middle-aged adults were exposed to a virtual vehicle as passengers. Some participants (Physical Drivers) had decades of experience driving physical automobiles, while others (Physical Non-Drivers) had rarely or never driven a physical vehicle. First, we measured head and torso movement as standing participants performed simple visual tasks. Then, each participant watched a recording of the motion of a virtual vehicle, which induced motion sickness in some participants. Afterward, neither the incidence nor the severity of motion sickness differed between Physical Drivers and Physical Non-Drivers. Our analysis of pre-exposure standing body sway revealed postural precursors of motion sickness in measures of the spatial magnitude and temporal dynamics of movement. In statistically significant interactions, these precursors (Well vs. Sick) differed as a function of physical driving experience (Physical Drivers vs. Physical Non-Drivers). Overall, our results indicate that, among virtual passengers, long-term real-world driving experience influenced the postural precursors of motion sickness, but not the incidence or severity of motion sickness. We discuss these results in terms of relationships between perception and motor control in theories of motion sickness etiology.