Article: Diaz-Artiles, A; Priesol, AJ; Clark, TK; Sherwood, DP; Oman, CM; Young, LR; Karmali, F; “The Impact of Oral Promethazine on Human Whole-Body Motion Perceptual Thresholds”, Jaro-Journal of theAssociation for Research in Otolaryngology, 18 (4):581-590
Abstract: Despite the widespread treatment of motion sickness symptoms using drugs and the involvement of the vestibular system in motion sickness, little is known about the effects of anti-motion sickness drugs on vestibular perception. In particular, the impact of oral promethazine, widely used for treating motion sickness, on vestibular perceptual thresholds has not previously been quantified. We examined whether promethazine (25 mg) alters vestibular perceptual thresholds in a counterbalanced, double-blind, within-subject study. Thresholds were determined using a direction recognition task (left vs. right) for whole-body yaw rotation, y-translation (interaural), and roll tilt passive, self-motions. Roll tilt thresholds were 31 % higher after ingestion of promethazine (P = 0.005). There were no statistically significant changes in yaw rotation and y-translation thresholds. This worsening of precision could have functional implications, e.g., during driving, bicycling, and piloting tasks. Differing results from some past studies of promethazine on the vestibulo-ocular reflex emphasize the need to study motion perception in addition to motor responses.
Funding Acknowledgement: National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NASA [NCC 9-58]; National Institutes of Health through NIDCD [DC013635]
Funding Text: We appreciate the participation of our anonymous subjects. We thank the Jenks Vestibular Physiology Lab for the use of the MOOG device and Dr. Dan Merfeld for his scientific insight and assistance using his MOOG device. We appreciate the assistance of Christine Finn at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary pharmacy. This research was supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NASA NCC 9-58 and by the National Institutes of Health through NIDCD DC013635 (FK). Preliminary results have been presented at a conference (Karmali et al. 2016b).