Sopite syndrome: a sometimes sole manifestation of motion sickness.

Drowsiness is one of the cardinal symptoms of motion sickness; therefore, a symptom-complex centering around "drowsiness" has been identified which, for convenience, has been termed the sopite syndrome. Generally, the symptoms characterizing this syndrome are interwoven with other symptoms but under two circumstances the sopite syndrome comprises the main or sole overt manifestation of motion sickness. One circumstance is that in which the intensity of the eliciting stimuli is closely matched to a person's susceptibility, and the sopite syndrome is evoked either before other symptoms of motion sickness appear or in their absence. The second circumstance occurs during prolonged exposure in a motion environment when adaptation results in the disappearance of motion sickness symptoms, except for responses characterizing the sopite syndrome. Typical symptoms of the syndrome are: 1) yawning, 2) drowsiness, 3) disinclination for work, either physical or mental, and 4) lack of participation in group activities. Phenomena derived from an analysis of the symptomatology of the sopite syndrome are qualitatively similar but may differ quantitatively from abstractions derived in other motion sickness responses. One example is the sometimes unique time course of the sopite syndrome. This implies that the immediate eliciting mechanisms not only differ from those involved in evoking other symptoms, but, also, that they must represent first order responses. Diagnosis is difficult unless the syndrome under discussion is kept in mind. Prevention poses a greater problem than treatment.