Japanese confirms effects of manga-style hypergravity training

July 8, 2019

Nagoya--A Japanese professor has confirmed effects of physical training under strong gravity through experiments in an environment mimicking a special training chamber that appeared in the popular comic series "Dragon Ball."

The motor-learning capacities of animals can be enhanced in a hypergravity environment, according to Yutaka Hirata of Chubu University's department of robotic science and technology.

In Dragon Ball, main character Son Goku trains in the "Seishin to Toki no Heya" (room of mind and time), where strong gravity is present, to prepare for enemy attacks.

Hirata, a Dragon Ball fan, has made presentations on the discovery at academic meetings in the Netherlands and Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.

According to Hirata, gravity twice the ordinary level was applied to human subjects who sat on a chair on rotating equipment.

In the hypergravity environment, the subjects showed better performance than under normal gravity in experiments to adapt to prism goggles that shifted their field of view by 17 degrees.

Specifically, the wearers learned to point accurately at a visual target on a touch screen quicker than under normal gravity, indicating an improvement in information-transmission efficiency among nerve cells, Hirata said.

Hirata had published a paper stating that monkey nerve cells are more active in bright environments. He believes that the effects achieved under bright conditions can be obtained also under strong gravity.

Hirata said that his latest findings will "provide a clue to creating effective sports practice environments for athletes and the general public." Jiji Press