estimating-vestibular-perceptual-thresholds-using-six-degree-freedom

Estimating Vestibular Perceptual Thresholds Using a Six-Degree-Of-Freedom Motion Platform

Vestibular perceptual thresholds refer to the motion intensity required to enable a participant to detect or discriminate a motion based on vestibular ...

measuring-influence-magnetic-vestibular-stimulation-on-nystagmus-self

Measuring the Influence of Magnetic Vestibular Stimulation on Nystagmus, Self-Motion Perception, and Cognitive Performance in a 7T MRT

Strong magnetic fields induce dizziness, vertigo, and nystagmus due to Lorentz forces acting on the cupula in the semi-circular canals, an effect called ...

University of Bern

Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine

There is growing evidence that vestibular information is not only involved in reflexive eye movements and the control of posture but it also plays an important role in higher order cognitive processes. Previous behavioral research has shown that concomitant vestibular stimuli influence performance in tasks that involve imagined self-rotations. These results suggest that imagined and perceived body rotations share common mechanisms. However, the nature and specificity of these effects remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying this vestibulocognitive interaction. Participants ( = 20) solved an imagined self-rotation task during caloric vestibular stimulation. We found robust main effects of caloric vestibular stimulation in the core region of the vestibular network, including the rolandic operculum and insula bilaterally, and of the cognitive task in parietal and frontal regions. Interestingly, we found an interaction of stimulation and task in the left inferior parietal lobe, suggesting that this region represents the modulation of imagined body rotations by vestibular input. This result provides evidence that the inferior parietal lobe plays a crucial role in the neural integration of mental and physical body rotation.

Vestibular Stimulation Modulates Neural Correlates of Own-body Mental Imagery.

Previous studies have found that peripheral vestibular dysfunction is associated with altered volumes in different brain structures, especially in the hippocampus. However, published evidence is conflicting. Based on previous findings, we compared hippocampal volume, as well as supramarginal, superior temporal, and postcentral gyrus in a sample of 55 patients with different conditions of peripheral vestibular dysfunction (bilateral, chronic unilateral, acute unilateral) to 39 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. In addition, we explored deviations in gray-matter volumes in hippocampal subfields. We also analysed correlations between morphometric data and visuo-spatial performance. Patients with vestibular dysfunction did not differ in total hippocampal volume from healthy controls. However, a reduced volume in the right presubiculum of the hippocampus and the left supramarginal gyrus was observed in patients with chronic and acute unilateral vestibular dysfunction, but not in patients with bilateral vestibular dysfunction. No association of altered volumes with visuo-spatial performance was found. An asymmetric vestibular input due to unilateral vestibular dysfunction might lead to reduced central brain volumes that are involved in vestibular processing.

ArticleTotal : 2	Year
Publication title	2022
Publication title Cited by 5	2023

Article	Year
Vestibular Stimulation Modulates Neural Correlates of Own-body Mental Imagery. Journal of cognitive neuroscience\| PubMed ID: 31682567	2020
Hippocampal volume in patients with bilateral and unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction. NeuroImage. Clinical\| PubMed ID: 36209619	2022

Gerda Wyssen

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