Douglas Watt - Retired Professor Emeritus

Research Area:  Neurophysiology

Research Description:

Dr. Watt has recently retired and no longer has an active lab in the Department.

My research is centred in four areas. First, a series of lab-based experiments are looking at the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying motion sickness and adaptation to provocative environments. Second, the neuroanatomical basis of motion sickness is being studied using functional imaging techniques. Third, I am developing some new means of testing human vestibular function, based on methods developed for the Canadian space program. Finally, I am investigating a potential cause of spatial disorientation in helicopters.

Education:  M.D., Ph.D., McGill

Recent Publications:

Cloutier, A. and Watt, D.G.D. Motion sickness provoked by torso rotation predicts that caused by head nodding. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 77: 909-914, 2006.

Watt, D. and Lefebvre, L. Vestibular suppression during space flight. J. Vestib. Res. 13: 363-376, 2003.

Watt, D.G.D. and Lefebvre, L. Effects of altered gravity on spinal cord excitability. First Research on the International Space Station, A.I.A.A. Conference on International Space Station Utilization, paper 2001-4939, Cape Canaveral, Florida, 2001.

Bouyer LJ, Watt DG.  "Torso rotation" experiments. 1. Adaptation to motion sickness does not correlate with changes in VOR gain. J Vestib Res. 6: 367-375, 1996.

Bouyer LJ, Watt DG.  "Torso rotation" experiments. 2. Gaze stability during voluntary head movements improves with adaptation to motion sickness. J Vestib Res. 6: 377-385, 1996.

Watt, D.G.D., Bouyer, L.J.G., Pleszewski, B. and Kucharski, W. Inverted head shaking as a model of space motion sickness. Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal 42: 128-132, 1996.

Watt, D.G.D., Bouyer, L.J.G., Nevo, I.T., Smith, A.V. and Yang, T. What is motion sickness? Ann. N.Y. Accad. Sci. 656: 660-667, 1991.

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