Neuroscientist explains car sickness to the brain believing it has been poisoned

Nausea Relief — An attendee tries the ReliefBand wearable electronic device, described as used to treat nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness and pregnancy, during the opening event at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas January 4, 2016. Reuters/Rick Wilking

A new book released by a UK neurologist explains car sickness to the brain thinking it has been poisoned. A person suffering from that malady experiences nausea in which the body believes it need to puke a toxin.

Dr Dean Burnett, a course tutor at the Cardiff University’s Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, says in the book "Idiot Brain: what your head is really up to" that road travel confuses the brain. The confusion comes from picking up so many mixed signals from the body, reports The Telegraph.

He explains that while the muscles are motionless, the eyes tell the brain a person is moving. At the same time, fluid in the ears’ balance sensors are sloshing around, suggesting movement. Burnett states, “In evolutionary terms, the only thing that can cause a sensory mismatch like that is a neurotoxin or poison,” quotes Fresh Air, a radio programme.

The expert warns people not to read while the car is moving because it increases the sensory mismatch which caused the sickness in the first place. Reading has no visual information to try and help allay the concerns of the brain, Burnett continues. Car travel is not the only activity that confuses the brain.

Burnett points to jet lag, binge eating and anxiety as other causes. Explaining the problem that people who cross time zones experience, the neurologist points out, “The brain having evolved an intricate method of regulating our sleep-cycle based on melatonin release in response to levels of daylight, but gets completely disorientated when we fly to a different time zones.”

His explanation matches what Medicine.net wrote that it is the mixed signals sent to the brain by the eyes and inner ear that causes motion sickness. Among the recommended treatments for motion sickness are a change in the environment by sitting by the open window of a vehicle, taking over-the-counter medication and home remedies which works for some people.

VIDEO: Motion Sickness – What is it?