“… sailing on the sea proves that motion disorders the body…” observed the Greek physician Hippocrates over two thousand years ago. ‘Nausea’ derives from the Greek root word ‘naus’, hence ‘nautical’ meaning a ship. Nowadays there is a potential to cause motion sickness in a wide range of situations – in cars, tilting trains, funfair rides, aircraft, weightlessness in outer-space, virtual reality and simulators. The general term ‘motion sickness’ embraces car-sickness, air-sickness, space-sickness, sea-sickness, etc. This talk will examine the possible causes of motion sickness and the effectiveness of prevention and treatment.

John originally trained as a biochemist at Oxford, but became interested in psychology, gaining another first degree, in psychology, before completing his DPhil there on the physiological and psychological effects of smoking. He then did research on psychoactive drugs and pain relief in the Pharmacology Department of Newcastle Medical School followed by an extended period in government service doing a wide range of applied research (human factors) including motion sickness, cognitive performance in divers, desensitisation of pilots, and military selection and training, at the Institute of Naval Medicine, RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine and Centre for Human Sciences (DERA). John has been awarded the post of Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, London.