Age-related differences for motion sickness in the rat.

The relationship between motion sickness and age was examined in three groups of male rats in order to determine whether or not age related differences in susceptibility are due to experiential factors or unspecified changes in the central nervous system. The results revealed no difference in susceptibility between 2-month old and 11-month old group. However, the 20-month old group was significantly less susceptible to motion sickness than either of the other groups. These findings indicate that general age related changes in the central nervous system are more likely to account for the relationship between motion sickness and age tha are experiential factors.