Vestibular habituation in flightcrew. 1976

P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine

Vestibular habituation is a general reaction to any repetitive sensory stimulation. It can be characterized by four main features: acquisition, retention, loss or dishabituation, and transfer. This study concerns three groups of subjects: The first group consists of a) 27 pilots at present serving in the French Air Force, b) 12 pilots at present serving in the major civil airlines, c) 8 navigators, radio-navigators, and crew mechanics, some of whom are flying club pilots, and d) 3 professional pilots trained in flying clubs. All of these subjects had more than 2000 h flying time. They were from 27 to 50 years old. The second group consists of airline stewards. The third group consists of trainee pilots still in flying school. All of these subjects were examined for their suitability, in particular undergoing a damped swing test. The first oscillation was in an anticlockwise direction and the damping extended over 20 periods. The following parametre was measured: the ratio of total left nystagmus frequency to total right nystagmus frequency. In "normal" control subjects the ratio is greater than 1. The results were: The first group: In 41 out of 50 subjects, the ratio of left tremors frequency to right tremors frequency was less than or approximately equal to 1. In the second group: The results showed no significant differences in comparison with a control group of subjects. In the third group: Zero flying time--the results were identical with those of control subjects; 40 h flying time--the ratio approached 1; 100 h flying time--the ratio was less than 1. Vestibular habituation, that is inversion of the preponderance of the total number of left tremors over the total number of right tremors, was observed in the technical flightcrew. The appearance of this inversion during the pilots' training was studied and its retention tested. This test for showing vestibular habituation may be of use for monitoring the function of equilibrium and the development of habituation during flight training. In this report, we shall first review the definition and characteristics of vestibular habituation, and the main body of recent work on this phenomenon in flightcrew. Our own findings will be then presented.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D006185 Habituation, Psychophysiologic The disappearance of responsiveness to a repeated stimulation. It does not include drug habituation. Habituation (Psychophysiology),Habituation, Psychophysiological,Psychophysiologic Habituation,Psychophysiological Habituation,Habituations (Psychophysiology)
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000337 Aerospace Medicine That branch of medicine dealing with the studies and effects of flight through the atmosphere or in space upon the human body and with the prevention or cure of physiological or psychological malfunctions arising from these effects. (from NASA Thesaurus) Aviation Medicine,Space Medicine,Medicine, Aerospace,Medicine, Aviation,Medicine, Space
D013997 Time Factors Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations. Time Series,Factor, Time,Time Factor

Related Publications

P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
January 1970, Advances in oto-rhino-laryngology,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
December 1966, Ceskoslovenska otolaryngologie,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
December 1969, Zeitschrift fur arztliche Fortbildung,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
January 1968, Acta oto-laryngologica,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
July 1977, South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
August 1974, Journal of comparative and physiological psychology,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
August 1989, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
January 1975, Uspekhi fiziologicheskikh nauk,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
June 1973, International journal of equilibrium research,
P Pialoux, and P Fontelle, and P Courtin, and A Gibert, and P Robert, and P Blanc, and E Lafontaine
January 1962, Acta oto-laryngologica,
Copied contents to your clipboard!