A Wearable Brain-Computer Interface for Mitigating Car Sickness via Attention Shifting

Clinical Snapshot

Key Findings

• P Value: Significant reductions reported but specific values not provided

• Effect Size: 83% of participants rated intervention as effective

• Primary Outcome: Car sickness severity reduction

• Nnt Or Sensitivity: Approximately 1 in 6 participants may not respond to intervention based on 83% effectiveness rate

• Confidence Interval: Not reported

Clinical Application

Requires wearable EEG technology and user training; may be limited by cost and technical complexity Not currently TGA-approved; would require regulatory assessment as medical device; potential integration with transport health initiatives and RACGP travel medicine guidelines Adults with car sickness susceptibility, particularly those with severe symptoms who showed greatest benefit

Abstract

Car sickness, an enormous vehicular travel challenge, affects a significant proportion of the population. Pharmacological interventions are limited by adverse side effects, and effective nonpharmacological alternatives remain to be identified. Here, we introduce a novel attention-shifting method based on a closed-loop, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven, wearable mindfulness brain-computer interface (BCI) to alleviate car sickness. As the user performs an attentional task, i.e., focusing on breathing as in mindfulness, with a wearable headband, the BCI collects and analyzes electroencephalography (EEG) data via a convolutional neural network to assess the user's mindfulness state and provide real-time audiovisual feedback. This approach might sustainedly shift the user's attention from physiological discomfort toward the BCI-based mindfulness practices, thereby mitigating car sickness symptoms. The efficacy of the proposed method was rigorously evaluated in two real-world experiments, namely, short and long car rides, with a large cohort of more than 100 participants susceptible to car sickness. Remarkably, over 83% of the participants rated the BCI-based attention shifting as effective, with significant reductions in car sickness severity, particularly in individuals with severe symptoms. Furthermore, EEG data analysis revealed a neurobiological signature of car sickness, which provided mechanistic insights into the efficacy of the BCI-based attention shifting for alleviating car sickness. This study proposes a wearable, nonpharmacological intervention for car sickness, validated in a relatively large-scale study involving over 100 participants in real-world car riding. These findings, derived from a between-cohort comparison, support the potential of this approach to improve the travel experience for car sickness sufferers and represent a novel practical application of BCI technology.

References

1. 1.Zhu, J., Bao, X., Huang, Q., Wang, T., Huang, L., Huang, H., Zhu, J., Qu, J., Li, K., Chen, D., Jiang, Y., Xu, K., Wang, Z., Wu, W., & Li, Y. (2026). A wearable brain-computer interface for mitigating car sickness via attention shifting. Advanced Science, Article 202513040. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202513040