Human eye movements during various forms of linear acceleration and weightlessness

Eye movements of human subjects were recorded electronystagmographically in complete darkness during rectilinear horizontal accelerations as achieved in cars on the ground and also during aircraft parabolic flight. The results were compared to the movements of blinded goldfish subjected to similar changes of gravitoinertial forces. The results indicate that there is a human correlation with the gravity reference response of fish. During horizontal forward accelerations on the ground the human eyes turn downward and during horizontal backward acceleration the eyes turn upward. The human eye response to g-loads below 1 g and to weightlessness is the reverse of the tilt of the fish. While fish dive down during low g, or loop forward during weightlessness, the eyes of subjects sitting upright in an aircraft which flies at 0 g move upward.