scholarly journals Dynamic arm movements attenuate perceptual distortion of visual vertical induced during prolonged whole-body tilt

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keisuke Tani ◽  
Shinji Yamamoto ◽  
Yasushi Kodaka ◽  
Keisuke Kushiro

AbstractAdditional gravitational cues generated by active body movements may play a role in the perception of gravitational space, but no experimental evidence has been shown on this. To investigate this possibility, we evaluated how arm movements made against gravity influenced the perceptual distortion of visual and postural vertical induced by prolonged whole-body tilt. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to perform static or dynamic arm movements during prolonged whole-body tilt and we assessed their effects on subjective visual vertical (SVV) at the tilt position (during-tilt session) and after tilting back to the upright position (post-tilt session). In Experiment 2, we evaluated how static or dynamic arm movements during prolonged tilt subsequently affected the subjective postural vertical (SPV). In Experiment 1, we observed that prolonged tilt induced the SVV shifts toward the side of body tilts in both sessions. The prolonged tilt-induced SVV shifts effectively decreased when performing dynamic arm movements in the during-tilt session, but not in the post-tilt session. In Experiment 2, the SPV shifted toward the side of prolonged body tilt, which was not significantly influenced by the performance of static or dynamic arm movements. Results of the during-tilt session suggest that the central nervous system utilizes additional cues generated by dynamic body movements for the perception of the visual vertical.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250851
Author(s):  
Keisuke Tani ◽  
Shinji Yamamoto ◽  
Yasushi Kodaka ◽  
Keisuke Kushiro

Concurrent body movements have been shown to enhance the accuracy of spatial judgment, but it remains unclear whether they also contribute to perceptual estimates of gravitational space not involving body movements. To address this, we evaluated the effects of static or dynamic arm movements during prolonged whole-body tilt on the subsequent perceptual estimates of visual or postural vertical. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to continuously perform static or dynamic arm movements during prolonged tilt, and we assessed their effects on the prolonged tilt-induced shifts of subjective visual vertical (SVV) at a tilted position (during-tilt session) or near upright (post-tilt session). In Experiment 2, we evaluated how static or dynamic arm movements during prolonged tilt subsequently affected the subjective postural vertical (SPV). In Experiment 1, we observed that the SVV was significantly shifted toward the direction of prolonged tilt in both sessions. The SVV shifts decreased when performing dynamic arm movements in the during-tilt session, but not in the post-tilt session. In Experiment 2, as well as SVV, the SPV was shifted toward the direction of prolonged tilt, but it was not significantly attenuated by the performance of static or dynamic arm movements. The results of the during-tilt session suggest that the central nervous system utilizes additional information generated by dynamic body movements for perceptual estimates of visual vertical.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-282
Author(s):  
Moetez Baghdadi ◽  
Simona Caldani ◽  
Audrey Maudoux ◽  
Isabelle Audo ◽  
Maria Pia Bucci ◽  
...  

Highlights • The estimation of verticality (assessed with Subjective visual vertical (SVV)) is more variable in patients with Usher (type I and II) compared to healthy participants. • Visual and vestibular information are essential for the visual vertical (VV) perception. • A reweighting of sensory information from the central nervous system seems to be able to compensate for the absence of vestibular function in patients with Usher type I.


Author(s):  
Audrey Rousseaud ◽  
Stephanie Moriceau ◽  
Mariana Ramos-Brossier ◽  
Franck Oury

AbstractReciprocal relationships between organs are essential to maintain whole body homeostasis. An exciting interplay between two apparently unrelated organs, the bone and the brain, has emerged recently. Indeed, it is now well established that the brain is a powerful regulator of skeletal homeostasis via a complex network of numerous players and pathways. In turn, bone via a bone-derived molecule, osteocalcin, appears as an important factor influencing the central nervous system by regulating brain development and several cognitive functions. In this paper we will discuss this complex and intimate relationship, as well as several pathologic conditions that may reinforce their potential interdependence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 881-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiyo Suzuki ◽  
Yuya Hattori ◽  
Tetsuya Sakashita ◽  
Yuichiro Yokota ◽  
Yasuhiko Kobayashi ◽  
...  

Abstract Radiation may affect essential functions and behaviors such as locomotion, feeding, learning and memory. Although whole-body irradiation has been shown to reduce motility in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the detailed mechanism responsible for this effect remains unknown. Targeted irradiation of the nerve ring responsible for sensory integration and information processing would allow us to determine whether the reduction of motility following whole-body irradiation reflects effects on the central nervous system or on the muscle cells themselves. We therefore addressed this issue using a collimating microbeam system. However, radiation targeting requires the animal to be immobilized, and previous studies have anesthetized animals to prevent their movement, thus making it impossible to assess their locomotion immediately after irradiation. We developed a method in which the animal was enclosed in a straight, microfluidic channel in a polydimethylsiloxane chip to inhibit free motion during irradiation, thus allowing locomotion to be observed immediately after irradiation. The head region (including the central nervous system), mid region around the intestine and uterus, and tail region were targeted independently. Each region was irradiated with 12 000 carbon ions (12C; 18.3 MeV/u; linear energy transfer = 106.4 keV/μm), corresponding to 500 Gy at a φ20 μm region. Motility was significantly decreased by whole-body irradiation, but not by irradiation of any of the individual regions, including the central nervous system. This suggests that radiation inhibits locomotion by a whole-body mechanism, potentially involving motoneurons and/or body-wall muscle cells, rather than affecting motor control via the central nervous system and the stimulation response.


1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-169
Author(s):  
Robert Gagnon ◽  
John Patrick

The behavioural response of the neonate to stimuli is an essential part of neurological examination in the newborn infant in order to measure the integrity and function of the central nervous system. Different sensory channels, such as auditory, vibrotactile or olfactory, have been used to elicit a response. With use of real-time ultrasound, Nijhuis et al. observed that human fetuses of 36 weeks gestation had developed behavioural states (1F–4F) that were, in their organization, fully comparable to the states originally described by Prechtl et al. in neonates. Three variables are used to identify human fetal behavioural states: fetal heart rate (FHR) pattern (A-D), fetal eye movements and fetal body movements.


1975 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 285-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. HUGUNIN ◽  
R. L. BRADLEY

Mercury is naturally concentrated in geographical belts, but geological cycling has distributed the element in all strata of the earth. Natural concentrations of mercury are approximately 100 ppb in soil, 0.06 ppb in fresh water, 0.01–0.30 ppb in sea water, and 0.003–0.009 μg/m3 in air. Concentrations vary, being highest near mineral deposits. The concentration of mercury in some areas has been significantly increased by human carelessness. An epidemic among Japanese fishing families, death of Swedish wildlife, and discovery of elevated mercury levels in American fish focused attention on this problem. The discovery that certain species are capable of methylating inorganic mercury indicates pollution with any chemical form of mercury is dangerous. Alkylmercurials are the most dangerous form of mercury in the environment. Alkylmercurials are absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, diffuse across the blood-brain carrier, and pass through the placental membrane in significantly higher proportions than other mercury compounds. The whole body half-life of methyl mercury in humans is 76 ± 3 days compared to half-lives of 37 ± 3 days for men and 48 ± 5 days for women observed for mercuric salts. Not readily broken down, sufficient concentrations of methyl mercury can cause irreversible damage to the central nervous system. Renal damage usually results from high levels of aryl- or alkoxyalkylmercurials and inorganic mercury; however, vapors of elemented mercury can damage the central nervous system. Organic mercury compounds cause chromosome changes, but the medical implications resulting from levels of mercury in food are unknown. The concentration of mercury in red blood cells and hair is indicative of the exposure to alkylmercurials. On a group basis, blood and urine concentrations of mercury may corrrelate with recent exposure to mercury.


2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (7) ◽  
pp. 1775-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Nardelli ◽  
Jaffar Khan ◽  
Randall Powers ◽  
Tim C. Cope ◽  
Mark M. Rich

Many critically ill patients in intensive care units suffer from an infection-induced whole body inflammatory state known as sepsis, which causes severe weakness in patients who survive. The mechanisms by which sepsis triggers intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICUAW) remain unclear. Currently, research into ICUAW is focused on dysfunction of the peripheral nervous system. During electromyographic studies of patients with ICUAW, we noticed that recruitment was limited to few motor units, which fired at low rates. The reduction in motor unit rate modulation suggested that functional impairment within the central nervous system contributes to ICUAW. To understand better the mechanism underlying reduced firing motor unit firing rates, we moved to the rat cecal ligation and puncture model of sepsis. In isoflurane-anesthetized rats, we studied the response of spinal motoneurons to injected current to determine their capacity for initiating and firing action potentials repetitively. Properties of single action potentials and passive membrane properties of motoneurons from septic rats were normal, suggesting excitability was normal. However, motoneurons exhibited striking dysfunction during repetitive firing. The sustained firing that underlies normal motor unit activity and smooth force generation was slower, more erratic, and often intermittent in septic rats. Our data are the first to suggest that reduced excitability of neurons within the central nervous system may contribute to ICUAW.


2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1948-1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan K. Ward ◽  
Christopher J. Bockisch ◽  
Nicoletta Caramia ◽  
Giovanni Bertolini ◽  
Alexander Andrea Tarnutzer

Accurate and precise estimates of direction of gravity are essential for spatial orientation. According to Bayesian theory, multisensory vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive input is centrally integrated in a weighted fashion based on the reliability of the component sensory signals. For otolithic input, a decreasing signal-to-noise ratio was demonstrated with increasing roll angle. We hypothesized that the weights of vestibular (otolithic) and extravestibular (visual/proprioceptive) sensors are roll-angle dependent and predicted an increased weight of extravestibular cues with increasing roll angle, potentially following the Bayesian hypothesis. To probe this concept, the subjective visual vertical (SVV) was assessed in different roll positions (≤ ± 120°, steps = 30°, n = 10) with/without presenting an optokinetic stimulus (velocity = ± 60°/s). The optokinetic stimulus biased the SVV toward the direction of stimulus rotation for roll angles ≥ ± 30° ( P < 0.005). Offsets grew from 3.9 ± 1.8° (upright) to 22.1 ± 11.8° (±120° roll tilt, P < 0.001). Trial-to-trial variability increased with roll angle, demonstrating a nonsignificant increase when providing optokinetic stimulation. Variability and optokinetic bias were correlated ( R2 = 0.71, slope = 0.71, 95% confidence interval = 0.57–0.86). An optimal-observer model combining an optokinetic bias with vestibular input reproduced measured errors closely. These findings support the hypothesis of a weighted multisensory integration when estimating direction of gravity with optokinetic stimulation. Visual input was weighted more when vestibular input became less reliable, i.e., at larger roll-tilt angles. However, according to Bayesian theory, the variability of combined cues is always lower than the variability of each source cue. If the observed increase in variability, although nonsignificant, is true, either it must depend on an additional source of variability, added after SVV computation, or it would conflict with the Bayesian hypothesis. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Applying a rotating optokinetic stimulus while recording the subjective visual vertical in different whole body roll angles, we noted the optokinetic-induced bias to correlate with the roll angle. These findings allow the hypothesis that the established optimal weighting of single-sensory cues depending on their reliability to estimate direction of gravity could be extended to a bias caused by visual self-motion stimuli.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville Hogan

This paper reviews some recent studies related to the generation of simple multijoint arm movements. Two principal issues are considered. The first concern is how movements are represented internally by the central nervous system. There are many possible sets of coordinates that could be used to represent arm movements. Two of the possibilities are reviewed: representation in terms of joint angular motions versus representation in terms of motions of the hand in external space coordinates. A second concern is the transformation from intention to action: how is an internal representation of motion expressed by the neuromuscular system? The computational complexity of this problem is reviewed. A way in which the mechanics of the neuromuscular system could be exploited to simplify this problem is discussed.


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