Forget the horror stories of misguided psychiatrists fitting electrodes the temples of people in order to relieve a malaise — electric treatment of the brain is said to be a successful means for dealing with motion sickness. This new method, BBC Science reports, is via a device fitted to the head.
To function, the device generates a mild electrical current. The current interferes with messages arriving from the part of the ear which controls balance, thereby convincing the brain that everything is stable. The scientific term applied to the process is “transcranial direct current stimulation.” It is is a form of neurostimulation, utilizing low amplitude direct currents.
The device takes the form of a headset and initial trials, conducted on 20 people, have been successful. For the trials, people were spun around in a chair designed to generate motion sickness. Half of the participants had received the electrical simulation and they rated how they felt in terms of nausea and sickness. The results were successful, and the trials suggest the device is as successful as travel pills, but without the side effect of rendering the person who takes the pills from becoming sleepy.
The device was developed by Dr. Qadeer Arshad and co-researchers from the Imperial College, in London. The research is at an early stage and the findings have yet to be published in a journal.
