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November 3, 1950

Subject: Proposed supplegent to with for studies of motion sick ness.

Gentlemen;

Yafter conferences with representatives of. presents for the consideration and support cf. a proposal for supplementaticn of its present program of roseerch on motion sickness, to be carried out in thed

The proposed supploment requosts an expansion of studies now in progress on the effects of certain drugs for prevention of motion sickness. The specific purpose of the proposed supploment is the . development of methods for study of the side-effocts of these drugs, and of roleted substances, or of other drugs er agents, with special attention to their actions on complex psychological functions and on behavior followed by the evaluaticn of particular drugs. The investigation will have three main aspects:

l. A survey of present knowledge of methods for assessment of the behavioral effects of chemical and envirormental agonts, such as drugs, toxins, alcohol, higi altitude, endocrines including pituitary ard adrenal cortical hormones, high temporaturo, slcep loss, noise or vibrations, environmental stress, social stress, etc.. The purpose will bo the discovery of methods which will make it possiblc to measure the specific nature of the effects of drugs on percoption, judgent, mood, impulsiveness, emotionality and other intellectual and porsonality traits.

2. The dovelopment aná testing of a sot of mothods by which such drug acticns may be validly measured. Fcr this purpose human subjects will be used under the influenco of such drugs as are now knowm to produce particular effects on intellectual, porsonality

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and conative traits, in order to test the validity of the methods. The three major approaches will probably bo: a) day-bock and observational studies of tho daily-life activitios of subjects under minimal dosages, b) laboratory investigations by physiological and psychclogical tests under a variety of dosage levels, and c) situaticnal and interview procedures at various dosege lovels. Each of these three mothods will be applied to subjects who differ widoly in intellectunl, personality and character traits, so as to find the interacticn of the human factor and the arug factor.

3. Tho testing, by means of whatever valid mothods havo heen doveloped by the study, of such drugs as seem likely to bc in most widespread uso.

It is hoped that tho rosults of these studics may make possible decisions on the limits of proper use of drugs in military operations. Farticularly, it is hoped to find which drugs may safely be administored to officers and other critical porsonnol whose perception, judgnaent, discrotion and decisions are vitally inportant.

But the significancc of such work, if it has a successful outcomo, may go far beyond such specific questions. It may make contributions to each of tho aroas of investigation of the effects of chemical and cnvironmental agents mentiened in (1) above, to problems of intorost to thc mental health authoritios working on the offects of ondocrinos or on the use of drugs as an aid in the psychotherapcutic proccss, and to fundamental behavior theory.

It is obvicus that this task is a difficult one, having beer the objoctive of many scientific workers for sixty years. Bocause of its scope it will require the cooporativs thinking and offorts of a number of seioncos. Furthermoro, it is not now possible to foresce all of the spocific nceds for equipment, consultation or porsonnel. For these roasens the bulget must be relatively large and the plans hore prosented and budget categorics shown should be rogarded as subject to lator revisions.