Could Vulnerability to Motion Sickness and Chronic Pain Coexist within a Sensorimotor Phenotype? Insights from over 500 Pre-Pain Motion Sickness Reports

The sensorimotor incongruence theory proposes that certain instances of pain result from conflicts in the brain’s sensorimotor networks. Indeed, injuries may cause abnormalities in afferent and cortical signaling resulting in such conflicts. Motion sickness also occurs in instances of incon-gruent sensorimotor data. It is possible that a sensory processing phenotype exists that predispos-es people to both conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate whether participants with chronic pain recall greater susceptibility to motion sickness before chronic pain onset. Method: Data were collected via an online LimeSurvey. A self-report tendency toward motion sickness was measured using the Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire. Group differences were analysed using the analysis of covariance methods.