Concomitant Visual Stimulation Does Not Alter Habituation of Nystagmic, Oculogyral Or Psychophysical Responses to Angular Acceleration

Abstract

This experiment evaluated the influence of various types of visual stimulation upon the habituation of nystagmic, oculogyral, and psychophysical responses to angular acceleration. Four groups of 20 young men each were given a series of 16 angular accelerations of 24°/sec² magnitude and of 10-scc duration. Concomitant visual stimulation, varied between groups from total darkness to full room illumination, was introduced on habituation trials that were interpolated between test trials. Although highly significant decrements for all responses were found with repeated testing, the different visual conditions in no way altered this habituation.