Sensory-Neural Systems: Spatial Orientation from End Organs to Behavior and Adaptation
This MIT OpenCourseWare course uses the vestibular and spatial orientation system as a model for studying sensory processing and multi-sensory fusion. It covers end organ dynamics, neural responses to motion and gravity, sensory integration, and how these systems shape balance, posture, and locomotion, including under altered gravity conditions in space. Advanced term projects let students pursue topics such as motion sickness, astronaut adaptation, artificial gravity, lunar surface locomotion, vestibulo-cardiovascular responses, or vestibular neural prostheses. Course materials include lecture content and assignments developed for MIT's Aeronautics and Astronautics and Health Sciences and Technology programs, freely available through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license. The course is aimed at students with some background in physiology or neuroscience who want to connect basic sensory biology to real-world applications in aerospace medicine and human spaceflight.