Variability in the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex and Vestibular Perception

Nouri, Sirine; Karmali, Faisal

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.08.025

Cited by 37 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Nevertheless, correlation does not equal causation, therefore additional studies are needed to (1) determine if the relationship between vestibular noise and age-related balance impairment is indeed causal, (2) to confirm or refute these findings in an independent sample of older adults, and (3) determine the mechanism explaining the association. Determining if alternative measures of vestibular noise, such as the vestibular time constant ( 199 , 212 ) or measures of VOR variability ( 242 ), display similar associations with age-related balance impairment may provide further insights.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Vestibular Contributions to Age-Related Balance Impairment: A Review

et al. 2021

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Aging is associated with progressive declines in both the vestibular and human balance systems. While vestibular lesions certainly contribute to imbalance, the specific contributions of age-related vestibular declines to age-related balance impairment is poorly understood. This gap in knowledge results from the absence of a standardized method for measuring age-related changes to the vestibular balance pathways. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide an overview of the existing body of literature as it pertains to the methods currently used to infer vestibular contributions to age-related imbalance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Vestibular Contributions to Age-Related Balance Impairment: A Review

et al. 2021

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“…Using signal detection theory, we can relate the thresholds determined in these studies to the imprecision or noise associated with the underlying sensory signal (Green and Swets 1966;Merfeld 2011). Motor variability in reflexive eye movements (vestibuloocular reflex; VOR) evoked by yaw rotation in rhesus monkeys (Haburcakova et al 2012) and humans (Nouri and Karmali 2018;Seemungal et al 2004) is similar to human perceptual yaw rotation thresholds, suggesting a common, sensory source of noise. Finally, the potential impact of vestibular imprecision on VOR and perceptual dynamics has been examined with computational models (Borah et al 1988;Karmali et al 2018;Karmali and Merfeld 2012;Laurens and Angelaki 2017;Laurens and Droulez 2007;MacNeilage et al 2008;Paulin et al 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Human manual control precision depends on vestibular sensory precision and gravitational magnitude

Rosenberg

Galvan-Garza

Clark

et al. 2018

Journal of Neurophysiology

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Precise motion control is critical to human survival on Earth and in space. Motion sensation is inherently imprecise, and the functional implications of this imprecision are not well understood. We studied a “vestibular” manual control task in which subjects attempted to keep themselves upright with a rotational hand controller (i.e., joystick) to null out pseudorandom, roll-tilt motion disturbances of their chair in the dark. Our first objective was to study the relationship between intersubject differences in manual control performance and sensory precision, determined by measuring vestibular perceptual thresholds. Our second objective was to examine the influence of altered gravity on manual control performance. Subjects performed the manual control task while supine during short-radius centrifugation, with roll tilts occurring relative to centripetal accelerations of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.33 GC (1 GC = 9.81 m/s2). Roll-tilt vestibular precision was quantified with roll-tilt vestibular direction-recognition perceptual thresholds, the minimum movement that one can reliably distinguish as leftward vs. rightward. A significant intersubject correlation was found between manual control performance (defined as the standard deviation of chair tilt) and thresholds, consistent with sensory imprecision negatively affecting functional precision. Furthermore, compared with 1.0 GC manual control was more precise in 1.33 GC (−18.3%, P = 0.005) and less precise in 0.5 GC (+39.6%, P < 0.001). The decrement in manual control performance observed in 0.5 GC and in subjects with high thresholds suggests potential risk factors for piloting and locomotion, both on Earth and during human exploration missions to the moon (0.16 G) and Mars (0.38 G). NEW & NOTEWORTHY The functional implications of imprecise motion sensation are not well understood. We found a significant correlation between subjects’ vestibular perceptual thresholds and performance in a manual control task (using a joystick to keep their chair upright), consistent with sensory imprecision negatively affecting functional precision. Furthermore, using an altered-gravity centrifuge configuration, we found that manual control precision was improved in “hypergravity” and degraded in “hypogravity.” These results have potential relevance for postural control, aviation, and spaceflight.

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“…Due to the imperfect and noisy nature of the sensory signals (Faisal et al. 2008 ; Nouri and Karmali 2018 ; Jamali et al. 2013 ) one cannot use the sensor measurements directly.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The LO has an internal model of the system (which is composed of both body and environment dynamics) and sensor dynamics. Due to the imperfect and noisy nature of the sensory signals (Faisal et al 2008;Nouri and Karmali 2018;Jamali et al 2013) one cannot use the sensor measurements directly. Instead, the true states of the system must be observed (estimated) by integrating sensory information using an internal model of the system itself.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual motion perception parameters and motion sickness frequency sensitivity in fore-aft motion

et al. 2021

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Previous literature suggests a relationship between individual characteristics of motion perception and the peak frequency of motion sickness sensitivity. Here, we used well-established paradigms to relate motion perception and motion sickness on an individual level. We recruited 23 participants to complete a two-part experiment. In the first part, we determined individual velocity storage time constants from perceived rotation in response to Earth Vertical Axis Rotation (EVAR) and subjective vertical time constants from perceived tilt in response to centrifugation. The cross-over frequency for resolution of the gravito-inertial ambiguity was derived from our data using the Multi Sensory Observer Model (MSOM). In the second part of the experiment, we determined individual motion sickness frequency responses. Participants were exposed to 30-minute sinusoidal fore-aft motions at frequencies of 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 Hz, with a peak amplitude of 2 m/s2 in five separate sessions, approximately 1 week apart. Sickness responses were recorded using both the MIsery SCale (MISC) with 30 s intervals, and the Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire (MSAQ) at the end of the motion exposure. The average velocity storage and subjective vertical time constants were 17.2 s (STD = 6.8 s) and 9.2 s (STD = 7.17 s). The average cross-over frequency was 0.21 Hz (STD = 0.10 Hz). At the group level, there was no significant effect of frequency on motion sickness. However, considerable individual variability was observed in frequency sensitivities, with some participants being particularly sensitive to the lowest frequencies, whereas others were most sensitive to intermediate or higher frequencies. The frequency of peak sensitivity did not correlate with the velocity storage time constant (r = 0.32, p = 0.26) or the subjective vertical time constant (r = − 0.37, p = 0.29). Our prediction of a significant correlation between cross-over frequency and frequency sensitivity was not confirmed (r = 0.26, p = 0.44). However, we did observe a strong positive correlation between the subjective vertical time constant and general motion sickness sensitivity (r = 0.74, p = 0.0006). We conclude that frequency sensitivity is best considered a property unique to the individual. This has important consequences for existing models of motion sickness, which were fitted to group averaged sensitivities. The correlation between the subjective vertical time constant and motion sickness sensitivity supports the importance of verticality perception during exposure to translational sickness stimuli.

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Variability in the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex and Vestibular Perception

Cited by 37 publications

References 83 publications

Measuring Vestibular Contributions to Age-Related Balance Impairment: A Review

Measuring Vestibular Contributions to Age-Related Balance Impairment: A Review

Human manual control precision depends on vestibular sensory precision and gravitational magnitude

Individual motion perception parameters and motion sickness frequency sensitivity in fore-aft motion

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