Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Vibro-motor Reprocessing Therapy for Motion Sickness Reduction

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Motion sickness is a common and complex syndrome that occurs as a physiological responseto real or perceived motion. Despite decades of research, why or how motion sicknessoccurs has not yet been understood well enough. The widely accepted theory is that ofsensory conflict. The theory posits that motion sickness is caused by sensory mismatch ofmotion signals received and transmitted by the eyes and the vestibular system in the innerear [1].An array of symptoms for motion sickness appears when the central nervous systemreceives conflicting information from the multiple sensory systems: the inner ear, eyes, skinpressure receptors and the muscle and joint sensory receptors. The primary symptoms ofmotion sickness are nausea and vomiting.Motion sickness is a serious problem for the people who are prone to the ailment.Unfortunately, this continues to be encountered in all modes of modern transportation. Theauthor believes that this problem is set to be exacerbated in future with the rapidlyincreasing adoption of autonomous vehicle technology in which passengers reportedly feelincreased sickness when sitting in front but not driving. Moreover, motion sickness is anemerging hazard with the proliferation of digital devices and displays [2-3].Countermeasures for motion sickness can be classified as either pharmacologic orbehavioural. Pharmacologic measures include over-the-counter medications such as thosecontaining antihistamines, anticholinergics, amphetamines and serotonin. Research hasshown that the effectiveness of these medications suggest involvement with relatedneurotransmitters: histamine, acetylcholine, noradrenalin and serotonin [4]. Somemedications such as scopolamine, are available only via prescription. Although most currentmeasures are effective at preventing motion sickness, they do little more than inducedrowsiness. Over-the-counter medications, particularly, have adverse effects that canimpair cognitive function and thus represent a safety risk for occupational use [5].Behavioural measures could comprise habituation, reprocessing or desensitisationtreatment protocols [5].The aim of my proposed area of PhD research is to reduce motion sickness/nausea by usingauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (aVNS). There exists another technique other than aVNSthat uses reprocessing therapy based on alternating vibrating stimulations in both palmsgenerally known as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) that will beexplored due to its novelty. EMDR therapy was originally used in psychological counsellingstudies and is based on eye movement [6]. Using both of these non-invasive techniques, wehypothesize that differences would be evident between participants who were exposed toaVNS and EMDR and those who were not, respectively.The Vagus nerve is the 10th cranial nerve that originates in the brainstem of the centralnervous system and travels throughout the periphery, targeting every major organ in thethorax and abdomen. Neuromodulation in the form of electrical stimulation of the auricularVagus nerve has a potential promise for electroceutical therapy. aVNS is a non-invasive Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Vibro-motor Reprocessing Therapy for MotionSickness ReductionPhD Proposal by Emmanuel Molefibrain stimulation technique that has been shown to be efficacious in the reduction of stress[7-8]. Study in [9] has shown aVNS as a safe clinical procedure and could be an effectivetreatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) originated by Covid-19 andsimilar viruses.