Engineering topics

Gulledge, W. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Gulledge, W. L..

4 records

NASA NTRS1983

Physiological and behavioral effects of tilt-induced body fluid shifts

This paper addresses the 'fluid shift theory' of space motion sickness. The primary purpose of the research was the development of procedures to assess individual differences in response to rostral body fluid shifts on earth. Experiment I examined inner ear fluid pressure changes during head-down tilt in intact human beings. Tilt produced reliable changes. Differences among subjects and between ears within the same subject were observed. Experiment II examined auditory threshold changes during tilt. Tilt elicited increased auditory thresholds, suggesting that sensory depression may result from increased inner ear fluid pressure. Additional observations on rotation magnitude estimation during head-down tilt, which indicate that rostral fluid shifts may depress semicircular canal activity, are briefly described. The results of this research suggest that the inner ear pressure and auditory threshold shift procedures could be used to assess individual differences among astronauts prior to space flight. Results from the terrestrial observations could be related to reported incidence/severity of motion sickness in space and used to evaluate the fluid shift theory of space motion sickness.

Parker, D. E.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Spatial orientation - Visual-vestibular-somatic interaction

The compensation signals from somatosensory and vestibular receptors, which act to compensate for disturbances produced by the displacement of our eyes relative to other parts of our bodies and for visual disturbances such as tilted frames or moving visual fields, are investigated. Disturbances were evoked by tilting the head and by rotating a large visual display, while compensation signals related to gravity were altered by placing the subjects horizontally on a board or seating them vertically. The first experiment studied the effects of visual disturbance on the ability of supine observers to set a line to the longitudinal body axis while the head was tilted toward one shoulder or while the head was straight. Results showed that the effects of the visual disturbance were greater when the head was tilted than when it was straight, which indicates that the effects of visual disturbance were greater for a task that required compensation. The second experiment compared the performance of supine and erect observers. No differences were found between the performance of observers on a task requiring the use of compensation signals under these two conditions, which suggests that the enrichment of compensatory signals did not reduce the effects of visual disturbancs.

Parker, D. E.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Self-motion magnitude estimation during linear oscillation - Changes with head orientation and following fatigue

Two types of experiments concerning the estimated magnitude of self-motion during exposure to linear oscillation on a parallel swing are described in this paper. Experiment I examined changes in magnitude estimation as a function of variation of the subject's head orientation, and Experiments II a, II b, and II c assessed changes in magnitude estimation performance following exposure to sustained, 'intense' linear oscillation (fatigue-inducting stimulation). The subjects' performance was summarized employing Stevens' power law R = k x S to the nth, where R is perceived self-motion magnitude, k is a constant, S is amplitude of linear oscillation, and n is an exponent). The results of Experiment I indicated that the exponents, n, for the magnitude estimation functions varied with head orientation and were greatest when the head was oriented 135 deg off the vertical. In Experiments II a-c, the magnitude estimation function exponents were increased following fatigue. Both types of experiments suggest ways in which the vestibular system's contribution to a spatial orientation perceptual system may vary. This variability may be a contributing factor to the development of pilot/astronaut disorientation and may also be implicated in the occurrence of motion sickness.

Parker, D. E.↗

NASA NTRS1978

A temporary threshold shift for self-motion detection following sustained, oscillating linear acceleration

Thresholds for detecting linear motion (self-motion) increased following exposure of human observers to sustained linear oscillation (fatiguing stimulus) at 0.26 Hz and approximately 0.5 G peak-to-peak for durations up to 30 min. Recovery to preexposure levels took place over a period of 10 to 15 min following the sustained oscillation termination. Differences in threshold shift magnitudes following sustained oscillation in various orientations support the interpretation that the observed threshold shifts resulted from fatigue of the utricular otolith receptors. Threshold shifts were not obtained following exposure of the human observers to sustained, unidirectional linear acceleration (2G) for durations up to 10 min with a centrifuge. The results of this study suggest a previously unobserved response property of the otolith organs, namely, that these organs can be fatigued in a manner analogous to other receptor systems.

Parker, D. E.↗