ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the role of visceral afferents in radiation sickness and presents their possible function in space sickness. It also discusses that motion sickness is a syndrome of nausea and vomiting elicited by certain types of real or apparent body movements. The book offers a speculative hypothesis that a paraventricular system of brain stem nuclei can collectively account for most of the phenomena associated with nausea and vomiting, and thus is an alternative to the concept of a vomiting center. It describes nausea and vomiting stimulate release of antidiuretic hormone, possibly through a neural reflex mechanism. The book reviews the current and possible future uses of serotonin antagonists and other drugs in cancer chemotherapy. It describes that anticholinergics, antihistamines, and sympathomimetics have some beneficial antiemetic effects on motion sickness.
