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Czarnolewski MY. Rod and frame test parameters for neuropsychology studies. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2024:1-22. [PMID: 38873989 DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2024.2356297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The rod and frame test (RFT), a measure of field dependence-independence, recently has reemerged as a measure of research interest and potential diagnostic value in neuropsychology. In the standard RFT, the subject experiences offsetting visual cues from a frame surrounding an embedded rod, while the subject's postural/vestibular cues provide the sense of verticality as the subject attempts to set the rod to vertical. The paper shows that RFTs not adhering to RFT parameters can reduce the test's visual framework impact experienced by the subject. Comparisons of neuropsychological studies will highlight that correct adherence to RFT testing conditions can strengthen RFT effects. METHOD This review presents the parameters that have been studied which impact on subject performance on the RFT. It identifies how computer administered RFTs have been applied to enhance the study of the RFT parameters and make the RFT more accessible to the study of different diagnostic groups. The article also critiques studies by identifying how the RFT's parameters, study's design and statistical analysis may have diminished identifying the full effects of the RFT experience. RESULTS Parameters impacting judgments of verticality of the rod can include: perceived size of rod and frame, the gap between the ends of the rod and surrounding frame, presentation of the rod within an encompassing 3D visual framework that visually blocks out the surrounding environment, a dark room, instructions stressing egocentric vs allocentric strategies, double frame surrounding the rod to assess global perception effects, etc. Details are presented how gap size likely affected results in neuropsychology studies. Potentially, these and other experiments may be studied using computer administered RFTs. CONCLUSIONS Based on the descriptions of computer administered RFTs, this article suggested that incorporating these technologies can provide better understanding underlying the RFT, and in turn, understanding neuropsychology processes.
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Khazali MF, Daddaoua N, Thier P. Nonhuman primates exploit the prior assumption that the visual world is vertical. J Neurophysiol 2023; 130:1252-1264. [PMID: 37823212 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00514.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
When human subjects tilt their heads in dark surroundings, the noisiness of vestibular information impedes precise reports on objects' orientation with respect to Earth's vertical axis. This difficulty is mitigated if a vertical visual background is available. Tilted visual backgrounds induce feelings of head tilt in subjects who are in fact upright. This is often explained as a result of the brain resorting to the prior assumption that natural visual backgrounds are vertical. Here, we tested whether monkeys show comparable perceptual mechanisms. To this end we trained two monkeys to align a visual arrow to a vertical reference line that had variable luminance across trials, while including a large, clearly visible background square whose orientation changed from trial to trial. On ∼20% of all trials, the vertical reference line was left out to measure the subjective visual vertical (SVV). When the frame was upright, the monkeys' SVV was aligned with the gravitational vertical. In accordance with the perceptual reports of humans, however, when the frame was tilted it induced an illusion of head tilt as indicated by a bias in SVV toward the frame orientation. Thus all primates exploit the prior assumption that the visual world is vertical.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here we show that the principles that characterize the human perception of the vertical are shared by another old world primate species, the rhesus monkey, suggesting phylogenetic continuity. In both species the integration of visual and vestibular information on the orientation of the head relative to the world is similarly constrained by the prior assumption that the visual world is vertical in the sense of having an orientation that is congruent with the gravity vector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Farhan Khazali
- Epilepsy Center, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States
| | - Nabil Daddaoua
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
| | - Peter Thier
- Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Cognitive Neurology Laboratory, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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3
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Grove CR, Klatt BN, Wagner AR, Anson ER. Vestibular perceptual testing from lab to clinic: a review. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1265889. [PMID: 37859653 PMCID: PMC10583719 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1265889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Not all dizziness presents as vertigo, suggesting other perceptual symptoms for individuals with vestibular disease. These non-specific perceptual complaints of dizziness have led to a recent resurgence in literature examining vestibular perceptual testing with the aim to enhance clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. Recent evidence supports incorporating rehabilitation methods to retrain vestibular perception. This review describes the current field of vestibular perceptual testing from scientific laboratory techniques that may not be clinic friendly to some low-tech options that may be more clinic friendly. Limitations are highlighted suggesting directions for additional research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin R. Grove
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Brooke N. Klatt
- Physical Therapy Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Andrew R. Wagner
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Eric R. Anson
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
- Physical Therapy Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
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4
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Cregg JM, Mirdamadi JL, Fortunato C, Okorokova EV, Kuper C, Nayeem R, Byun AJ, Avraham C, Buonocore A, Winner TS, Mildren RL. Highlights from the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for the Neural Control of Movement. J Neurophysiol 2023; 129:220-234. [PMID: 36541602 PMCID: PMC9844973 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00500.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jared M Cregg
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jasmine L Mirdamadi
- Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Cátia Fortunato
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Clara Kuper
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rashida Nayeem
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Andrew J Byun
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Chen Avraham
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel
| | - Antimo Buonocore
- Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Educational, Psychological and Communication Sciences, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Naples, Italy
| | - Taniel S Winner
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Robyn L Mildren
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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5
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Laurens J. The otolith vermis: A systems neuroscience theory of the Nodulus and Uvula. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:886284. [PMID: 36185824 PMCID: PMC9520001 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.886284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The Nodulus and Uvula (NU) (lobules X and IX of the cerebellar vermis) form a prominent center of vestibular information processing. Over decades, fundamental and clinical research on the NU has uncovered many aspects of its function. Those include the resolution of a sensory ambiguity inherent to inertial sensors in the inner ear, the otolith organs; the use of gravity signals to sense head rotations; and the differential processing of self-generated and externally imposed head motion. Here, I review these works in the context of a theoretical framework of information processing called the internal model hypothesis. I propose that the NU implements a forward internal model to predict the activation of the otoliths, and outputs sensory predictions errors to correct internal estimates of self-motion or to drive learning. I show that a Kalman filter based on this framework accounts for various functions of the NU, neurophysiological findings, as well as the clinical consequences of NU lesions. This highlights the role of the NU in processing information from the otoliths and supports its denomination as the "otolith" vermis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Laurens
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany
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6
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Robijn SMM, Smits JJ, Sezer K, Huygen PLM, Beynon AJ, van Wijk E, Kremer H, de Vrieze E, Lanting CP, Pennings RJE. Genotype-Phenotype Correlations of Pathogenic COCH Variants in DFNA9: A HuGE Systematic Review and Audiometric Meta-Analysis. Biomolecules 2022; 12:220. [PMID: 35204720 PMCID: PMC8961530 DOI: 10.3390/biom12020220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic missense variants in COCH are associated with DFNA9, an autosomal dominantly inherited type of progressive sensorineural hearing loss with or without vestibular dysfunction. This study is a comprehensive overview of genotype-phenotype correlations using the PRISMA and HuGENet guidelines. Study characteristics, risk of bias, genotyping and data on the self-reported age of onset, symptoms of vestibular dysfunction, normative test results for vestibular function, and results of audiovestibular examinations were extracted for each underlying pathogenic COCH variant. The literature search yielded 48 studies describing the audiovestibular phenotypes of 27 DFNA9-associated variants in COCH. Subsequently, meta-analysis of audiometric data was performed by constructing age-related typical audiograms and by performing non-linear regression analyses on the age of onset and progression of hearing loss. Significant differences were found between the calculated ages of onset and progression of the audiovestibular phenotypes of subjects with pathogenic variants affecting either the LCCL domain of cochlin or the vWFA2 and Ivd1 domains. We conclude that the audiovestibular phenotypes associated with DFNA9 are highly variable. Variants affecting the LCCL domain of cochlin generally lead to more progression of hearing loss when compared to variants affecting the other domains. This review serves as a reference for prospective natural history studies in anticipation of mutation-specific therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sybren M. M. Robijn
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
| | - Jeroen J. Smits
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Kadriye Sezer
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
| | - Patrick L. M. Huygen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
| | - Andy J. Beynon
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
| | - Erwin van Wijk
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
| | - Hannie Kremer
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Erik de Vrieze
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
| | - Cornelis P. Lanting
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
| | - Ronald J. E. Pennings
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing & Genes, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (S.M.M.R.); (J.J.S.); (K.S.); (P.L.M.H.); (A.J.B.); (E.v.W.); (E.d.V.); (C.P.L.)
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
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7
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Stapel JC, Medendorp WP. Panoramic Uncertainty in Vertical Perception. Front Integr Neurosci 2021; 15:738768. [PMID: 34867226 PMCID: PMC8635489 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2021.738768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Judgments of the orientation of a visual line with respect to earth vertical are affected by panoramic visual cues. This is illustrated by the rod-and-frame effect (RFE), the finding that the perceived orientation of a luminous rod is biased by the orientation of a surrounding squared frame. In this study, we tested how the uncertainty of frame orientation affects the RFE by asking upright or tilted participants to psychometrically judge the orientation of a briefly flashed rod contained within either a circular frame, a squared frame, or either of two intermediate frame forms, called squircles, presented in various orientations. Results showed a cyclical modulation of frame-induced bias across the range of the square and squircular frame orientations. The magnitude of this bias increased with increasing squaredness of the frame, as if the more unequivocal the orientation cues of the frame, the larger the reliance on them for rod orientation judgments. These findings are explained with a Bayesian optimal integration model in which participants flexibly weigh visual panoramic cues, depending on their orientation reliability, and non-visual cues in the perception of vertical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janny C Stapel
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Uppsala Child and Babylab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - W Pieter Medendorp
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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8
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Diaz-Artiles A, Karmali F. Vestibular Precision at the Level of Perception, Eye Movements, Posture, and Neurons. Neuroscience 2021; 468:282-320. [PMID: 34087393 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Precision and accuracy are two fundamental properties of any system, including the nervous system. Reduced precision (i.e., imprecision) results from the presence of neural noise at each level of sensory, motor, and perceptual processing. This review has three objectives: (1) to show the importance of studying vestibular precision, and specifically that studying accuracy without studying precision ignores fundamental aspects of the vestibular system; (2) to synthesize key hypotheses about precision in vestibular perception, the vestibulo-ocular reflex, posture, and neurons; and (3) to show that groups of studies that are thoughts to be distinct (e.g., perceptual thresholds, subjective visual vertical variability, neuronal variability) are actually "two sides of the same coin" - because the methods used allow results to be related to the standard deviation of a Gaussian distribution describing the underlying neural noise. Vestibular precision varies with age, stimulus amplitude, stimulus frequency, body orientation, motion direction, pathology, medication, and electrical/mechanical vestibular stimulation, but does not vary with sex. The brain optimizes precision during integration of vestibular cues with visual, auditory, and/or somatosensory cues. Since a common concern with precision metrics is time required for testing, we describe approaches to optimize data collection and provide evidence that fatigue and session effects are minimal. Finally, we summarize how precision is an individual trait that is correlated with clinical outcomes in patients as well as with performance in functional tasks like balance. These findings highlight the importance of studying vestibular precision and accuracy, and that knowledge gaps remain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Diaz-Artiles
- Bioastronautics and Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3141, USA. https://bhp.engr.tamu.edu
| | - Faisal Karmali
- Jenks Vestibular Physiology Laboratory, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA.
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9
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Abstract
Even for a stereotyped task, sensorimotor behavior is generally variable due to noise, redundancy, adaptability, learning or plasticity. The sources and significance of different kinds of behavioral variability have attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, the idea that part of this variability depends on unique individual strategies has been explored to a lesser extent. In particular, the notion of style recurs infrequently in the literature on sensorimotor behavior. In general use, style refers to a distinctive manner or custom of behaving oneself or of doing something, especially one that is typical of a person, group of people, place, context, or period. The application of the term to the domain of perceptual and motor phenomenology opens new perspectives on the nature of behavioral variability, perspectives that are complementary to those typically considered in the studies of sensorimotor variability. In particular, the concept of style may help toward the development of personalised physiology and medicine by providing markers of individual behaviour and response to different stimuli or treatments. Here, we cover some potential applications of the concept of perceptual-motor style to different areas of neuroscience, both in the healthy and the diseased. We prefer to be as general as possible in the types of applications we consider, even at the expense of running the risk of encompassing loosely related studies, given the relative novelty of the introduction of the term perceptual-motor style in neurosciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Paul Vidal
- CNRS, SSA, ENS Paris Saclay, Université de Paris, Centre Borelli, 75005 Paris, France
- Institute of Information and Control, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Francesco Lacquaniti
- Department of Systems Medicine, Center of Space Biomedicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
- Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
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10
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Time Course of Sensory Substitution for Gravity Sensing in Visual Vertical Orientation Perception following Complete Vestibular Loss. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0021-20.2020. [PMID: 32561572 PMCID: PMC7358335 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0021-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Loss of vestibular function causes severe acute symptoms of dizziness and disorientation, yet the brain can adapt and regain near to normal locomotor and orientation function through sensory substitution. Animal studies quantifying functional recovery have yet been limited to reflexive eye movements. Here, we studied the interplay between vestibular and proprioceptive graviception in macaque monkeys trained in an earth-vertical visual orientation (subjective visual vertical; SVV) task and measured the time course of sensory substitution for gravity perception following complete bilateral vestibular loss (BVL). Graviceptive gain, defined as the ratio of perceived versus actual tilt angle, decreased to 20% immediately following labyrinthectomy, and recovered to nearly prelesion levels with a time constant of approximately three weeks of postsurgery testing. We conclude that proprioception accounts for up to 20% of gravity sensing in normal animals, and is re-weighted to substitute completely perceptual graviception after vestibular loss. We show that these results can be accounted for by an optimal sensory fusion model.
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A systematic review of hearing and vestibular function in carriers of the Pro51Ser mutation in the COCH gene. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2019; 276:1251-1262. [DOI: 10.1007/s00405-019-05322-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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12
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Alberts BBGT, Selen LPJ, Medendorp WP. Age-related reweighting of visual and vestibular cues for vertical perception. J Neurophysiol 2019; 121:1279-1288. [PMID: 30699005 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00481.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
As we age, the acuity of our sensory organs declines, which may affect our lifestyle. Sensory deterioration in the vestibular system is typically bilateral and gradual, and could lead to problems with balance and spatial orientation. To compensate for the sensory deterioration, it has been suggested that the brain reweights the sensory information sources according to their relative noise characteristics. For rehabilitation and training programs, it is important to understand the consequences of this reweighting, preferably at the individual subject level. We psychometrically examined the age-dependent reweighting of visual and vestibular cues used in spatial orientation in a group of 32 subjects (age range: 19-76 yr). We asked subjects to indicate the orientation of a line (clockwise or counterclockwise relative to the gravitational vertical) presented within an oriented square visual frame when seated upright or with their head tilted 30° relative to the body. Results show that subjects' vertical perception is biased by the orientation of the visual frame. Both the magnitude of this bias and response variability become larger with increasing age. Deducing the underlying sensory noise characteristics, using Bayesian inference, suggests an age-dependent reweighting of sensory information, with an increasing weight of the visual contextual information. Further scrutiny of the model suggests that this shift in sensory weights is the result of an increase in the noise of the vestibular signal. Our approach quantifies how noise properties of visual and vestibular systems change over the life span, which helps to understand the aging process at the neurocomputational level. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Perception of visual vertical involves a weighted fusion of visual and vestibular tilt cues. Using a Bayesian approach and experimental psychophysics, we quantify how this fusion process changes with age. We show that, with age, the vestibular information is down-weighted whereas the visual weight is increased. This shift in sensory reweighting is primarily due to an age-related increase of the noise of vestibular signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart B G T Alberts
- Radboud University , Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen , The Netherlands
| | - Luc P J Selen
- Radboud University , Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen , The Netherlands
| | - W Pieter Medendorp
- Radboud University , Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen , The Netherlands
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13
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Abstract
The cerebellum is known to support motor behaviors, including postural stability, but new research supports the view that cerebellar function is also critical for perception of spatial orientation, particularly because of its role in vestibular processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul R MacNeilage
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, USA.
| | - Stefan Glasauer
- Computational Neuroscience, Institute of Medical Technology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus - Senftenberg, Germany.
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14
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Medendorp WP, Alberts BBGT, Verhagen WIM, Koppen M, Selen LPJ. Psychophysical Evaluation of Sensory Reweighting in Bilateral Vestibulopathy. Front Neurol 2018; 9:377. [PMID: 29910766 PMCID: PMC5992424 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception of spatial orientation is thought to rely on the brain's integration of visual, vestibular, proprioceptive, and somatosensory signals, as well as internal beliefs. When one of these signals breaks down, such as the vestibular signal in bilateral vestibulopathy, patients start compensating by relying more on the remaining cues. How these signals are reweighted in this integration process is difficult to establish, since they cannot be measured in isolation during natural tasks, are inherently noisy, and can be ambiguous or in conflict. Here, we review our recent work, combining experimental psychophysics with a reverse engineering approach, based on Bayesian inference principles, to quantify sensory noise levels and optimal (re)weighting at the individual subject level, in both patients with bilateral vestibular deficits and healthy controls. We show that these patients reweight the remaining sensory information, relying more on visual and other nonvestibular information than healthy controls in the perception of spatial orientation. This quantification approach could improve diagnostics and prognostics of multisensory integration deficits in vestibular patients, and contribute to an evaluation of rehabilitation therapies directed toward specific training programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- W. Pieter Medendorp
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Bart B. G. T. Alberts
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Wim I. M. Verhagen
- Department of Neurology, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Mathieu Koppen
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Luc P. J. Selen
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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