Accurate perception of self-motion perception is critical for spatial orientation, especially in environments lacking visual or gravitational cues, such as during spaceflight. This study investigated how humans perceive passive whole-body rotation while free-floating in microgravity during parabolic flight.
No actionable clinical change — this is a basic science study on vestibular and spatial orientation perception in microgravity with no direct current clinical application.
Understanding how the vestibular system (the inner-ear balance system) processes motion without gravity deepens fundamental knowledge relevant to vestibular science, astronaut health, and extreme-environment rehabilitation.
- 01Study examined self-motion and spatial orientation perception in weightless (microgravity) conditions during parabolic flight.
- 02Participants were free-floating, removing both visual and gravitational orientation cues simultaneously.
- 03Findings contribute to basic vestibular science and understanding of sensory reweighting without gravity.
- 04Relevant to aerospace medicine, astronaut rehabilitation, and theoretical vestibular models.
Perception of body angular displacement is altered in microgravity conditions during parabolic flight.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42228099
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00405-026-10339-0.
- Journal
- European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Human participants undergoing parabolic flight in microgravity conditions
- Intervention
- Free-floating in microgravity during parabolic flight
Primary outcomes
Perception of body angular displacement; Self-motion perception in the absence of visual and gravitational cues