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Motion processing is a fundamental and continuous neural process. In humans, we receive information primarily through our visual and vestibular sensory systems, reflecting external- and self-motion, respectively. These two systems employ complex neural networks across lower- and higher neural regions, but on their most basic level rely on basic subcortical pathways to produce reflexive responses that allow good postural control and gaze-stability1,2. Proprioception serves as the third sensory contributor to good postural control, and while it has been shown that somatosensation may guide gaze-stabilizing behaviors, its role in producing distinct eye movements is limited1,3.
Gaze-stabilization is generally achieved through two separate reflexive arcs, the optokinetic reflex (OKR), which leads the eye to follow a moving visual element, and the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), which supports visual acuity by causing the eyes to move in the opposite direction of the head1. While distinct entities, these reflexive arcs also share several neural pathways, and in our habitual state, we naturally combine visual and vestibular input to create an impression of motion4.
There are several methods for assessing how vision and vestibular input are processed during this basic sensorimotor integration. Many feature balance tests, combining visual and vestibular input in different iterations5,6,7, while others employ eye tracking to assess the gaze-stabilizing response8,9. These two very different motor responses share key neural pathways, and we have, in recent studies, outlined robust correlations between gaze-stabilization and postural control10,11. With eye-tracking becoming increasingly available and relying entirely on non-voluntary motor commands, an argument may be made for their reflecting a more innate sensorimotor integration than the balance response.
A majority of studies make use of vertical or horizontal gaze stabilization when assessing the eye movement response12,13. The present protocol instead implements ocular torsion, the rotation of the eye around its visual axis, as a main indicator for gaze stabilization. Ocular torsion exhibits a more dynamic gain than gaze-stabilization caused by yaw- or pitch rotations, or translational movements14. Coupled with greater variability, this means that torsion is more readily influenced by motion parameters, such as visual clutter or acceleration, or medical conditions15,16,17,18. As torsion is outside the remit of voluntary oculomotor control it also serves a more direct indicator of basic sensorimotor integration, as a subject is only able to influence the response through their attention rather than any intended motor command19. Ocular torsion can be triggered by both visual and vestibular rotations in the roll plane20,21. The torsional OKR and VOR may therefore be used to assess how visual and vestibular motion information is handled during sensorimotor integration on its most basic level. By issuing isolated visual and vestibular stimulations and then comparing the responses to those observed during combined visuovestibular trials, one may deduce how each sensory system is influencing the eye movement response and consequently how the brain processes external- and self-motion in any particular setting. One may also investigate how various medical conditions featuring subjective motion processing deficits affect this basic capacity for visuovestibular integration. As gaze-stability has been shown to be directly correlated with postural stability10,11, sharing largely the same basic neural pathways22, the eye movement response may also indicate an individual's postural stability to various conditions without requiring pressure plate measurements. This may be of particular interest when evaluating patients with sensory reweighting, such as observed in post-concussion syndrome18.
The present protocol outlines a methodology for employing combinations of optokinetic and whole-body roll plane rotations to provoke torsional OKR and VOR responses. Using eye and head tracking to trace ocular torsion and vestibular input, the resulting data may then be used to deduce how each sensory modality compares in relation to one another. The goal of the protocol was to present a robust methodology for assessing sensory influences over gaze stabilization and the basic capacity for sensorimotor integration in humans and individuals suffering from sensory reweighing.
The present study evaluated the relative contribution to visual and vestibular motion processing during roll plane rotations. It involved exposing subjects to isolated optokinetic rotations, isolated vestibular whole-body rotations in darkness, and combined visuovestibular motion stimulations during which subjects are rotated while viewing a static visual scene (see Figure 1). This was done with healthy controls and individuals suffering from sensory reweighing, as indicated by a subjective hypersensitivity to visual motion, following a concussion. The main outcome parameters included the dynamic and static eye-movement gains during each stimulation, as well as absolute eye movement amplitudes, velocities, and accelerations. Each trial in the present protocol started with 20 s of the subject, or the visual scene, being kept at rest before the onset of the rotational movement. After reaching the predetermined amplitude, the scene or subject was kept at that rotational amplitude for another 20 s before the trial was terminated; it is recommended that stimulation is kept at rest for at least 10 s before and after each rotational movement to meet the minimum requirements for allowing stable oculomotor fixation and establishing a baseline. While the present protocol issued all stimulations in the counter-clockwise direction, note that directionality has been shown to have no effect on the torsional response15. No training or acclimatization was deemed necessary due to the reflexive nature of the outcome variables.