Adaptation of the Visual Vertical during Prolonged Body Tilt Varies with Susceptibility to Motion Sickness

1981 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-458
Author(s):  
Colin B. Pitblado ◽  
Charles S. Mirabile ◽  
John E. Richard

Judgments of the visual, vertical, made without a visual reference frame-work, from a tilted-body position, result in systematic constant errors (Aubert effects). Pitblado and Mirabile (1977) showed that these errors vary with motion-sickness susceptibility, persons of intermediate susceptibility showing the greatest error. Recent exploratory work suggested patterns of progressive intra-session change in Aubert effects which might further differentiate groups of differing susceptibility. The raw data from Pitblado and Mirabile's 1977 study were reanalyzed for possible progressive change. This new analysis showed significant progressive reductions in Aubert effects for groups originally high and low, but a nearly significant increase in the intermediate group. New implications concerning group differences in vestibular function are discussed.

1976 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 747-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Comalli ◽  
Stephanie Schmidt ◽  
Morton W. Altshuler

20 profoundly deaf and 20 normal hearing children from ages 10 to 13 were compared as to their ability to locate visually the position of apparent vertical and the apparent location of the longitudinal axis of the body under erect and 30° left and right body-tilt. Both deaf and normal hearing children were able accurately to locate a rod to the apparent visual vertical, but deaf children were significantly more accurate in aligning a rod to their apparent body-position than hearing children. This finding is discussed from both a learning view and from a hypothesis of developmental lag.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoko Sugawara ◽  
Yoshiro Wada ◽  
Taeko Ito ◽  
Hiroyuki Sakai

Accumulating evidence suggests that individual variations in vestibular functions are associated with motion sickness (MS) susceptibility. We investigated whether vestibular functions in the reflex and cortical pathways could predict the susceptibility of individuals to MS. MS-susceptible and control adults were recruited according to the Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (MSSQ) score. Otolith reflex and cortical functions were assessed using the ocular counter rolling test and the head-tilt subjective visual vertical (HT-SVV) test, respectively. The bilateral asymmetry of each function was compared between the MS-susceptible and the control groups. Although the two tests for otolith functions were conducted using the same stimulation (lateral head tilt), bilateral asymmetry of otolith reflex rather than cortical function was significantly associated with MS susceptibility. Our data suggests that bilateral asymmetry in the otolith reflex pathway is capable of predicting susceptibility to MS to some extent. Our data also suggest that the association between vestibular function and MS susceptibility can vary based on the vehicle types. Future vehicles, such as self-driving cars, will make us aware of other vestibular functions associated with MS susceptibility.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-198
Author(s):  
Cynthia G. Fowler ◽  
Margaret Dallapiazza ◽  
Kathleen Talbot Hadsell

Purpose Motion sickness (MS) is a common condition that affects millions of individuals. Although the condition is common and can be debilitating, little research has focused on the vestibular function associated with susceptibility to MS. One causal theory of MS is an asymmetry of vestibular function within or between ears. The purposes of this study, therefore, were (a) to determine if the vestibular system (oculomotor and caloric tests) in videonystagmography (VNG) is associated with susceptibility to MS and (b) to determine if these tests support the theory of an asymmetry between ears associated with MS susceptibility. Method VNG was used to measure oculomotor and caloric responses. Fifty young adults were recruited; 50 completed the oculomotor tests, and 31 completed the four caloric irrigations. MS susceptibility was evaluated with the Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire–Short Form; in this study, percent susceptibility ranged from 0% to 100% in the participants. Participants were divided into three susceptibility groups (Low, Mid, and High). Repeated-measures analyses of variance and pairwise comparisons determined significance among the groups on the VNG test results. Results Oculomotor test results revealed no significant differences among the MS susceptibility groups. Caloric stimuli elicited responses that were correlated positively with susceptibility to MS. Slow-phase velocity was slowest in the Low MS group compared to the Mid and High groups. There was no significant asymmetry between ears in any of the groups. Conclusions MS susceptibility was significantly and positively correlated with caloric slow-phase velocity. Although asymmetries between ears are purported to be associated with MS, asymmetries were not evident. Susceptibility to MS may contribute to interindividual variability of caloric responses within the normal range.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
L.J.G. Bouyer ◽  
D.G.D. Watt

Acute, reversible changes in human vestibular function can be produced by exposure to “Torso Rotation” (TR), a method involving the overuse of certain types of simple, self-generated movements. A single session results in multiple, short-lasting aftereffects, including perceptual illusions, VOR gain reduction,gaze and postural instability, and motion sickness. With repeated exposure, motion sickness susceptibility disappears and gaze stability improves. VOR gain continues to be reduced, however. Therefore, another gaze stabilizing system must come into play. Are visual and/or neck inputs involved in this functional compensation? Six subjects participated in this 7-day experiment. Eye and head movements were measured during 2 tests: 1) voluntary “head only” shaking between 0.3 and 3.0 Hz (lights off) and 2) voluntary “head and torso” shaking, moving the upper body en bloc (neck immobilized). Measurements were obtained before and repeatedly after TR. Velocity gain (eye velocity/head velocity) was determined for each of these tests. Each day, mean velocity gain during “head only” shaking in the dark (averaged over 1.0 to 2.0 Hz) dropped significantly after TR ( P < 0.01), with no long-term improvement ( P > 0.9). Similar results, although more noisy, were obtained for “head and torso” shaking. As a control, EOG calibration data confirmed that gaze stability in the light did improve over the 7 days of testing. This experiment demonstrates that the reduction in gaze instability following repeated exposure to TR results from an increased use of vision. It excludes the VOR, the COR, and predictive mechanisms (including efference copy) as contributors. In addition, in the 20 minutes following TR completion, gaze stability recovered less than during previous VOR testing in the dark. These results are compatible with the motion that exposure to TR leads to a change in sensorimotor strategy involving a de-emphasis of vestibular inputs.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaël Levy ◽  
Rocio Fernandez ◽  
Fanny Lidouren ◽  
Matthias Kohlhauer ◽  
Lionel Lamhaut ◽  
...  

Introduction: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is widely proposed for the treatment of refractory cardiac arrest. Hypothesis: Since cerebral autoregulation is altered in such conditions, body position may modify hemodynamics during ECPR. Our goal was to determine whether a whole body tilt-up challenge (TUC) could lower intracranial pressure (ICP) as previously shown with conventional CPR, without deteriorating cerebral blood flow (CBF). Methods: Pigs were anesthetized and instrumented for the continuous evaluation of CBF, ICP and systemic hemodynamics. After 15 min of untreated ventricular fibrillation they were treated with 30 min of E-CPR followed by sequential defibrillation shocks until resumption of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). ECMO was continued after ROSC to target a mean arterial pressure (MAP) >60 mmHg. Animals were maintained in the flat position (FP) throughout protocol, except during a 2 min TUC of the whole body (+30°) at baseline, during E-CPR and after-ROSC. Results: Four animals received the entire procedure and ROSC was obtained in 3/4. After cardiac arrest, E-CPR was delivered at 29±2 ml/kg/min to maintain a MAP of 57±8 mmHg in the FP. CBF was 28% of baseline and ICP remain stable (12±1 vs 13±1 mmHg during ECPR vs baseline, respectively). Under baseline pre-arrest conditions TUC resulted in a significant decrease in ICP (-63±7%) and CBF (-21±3%) versus the FP, with no significant effect on systemic hemodynamics. During E-CPR and after ROSC, TUC markedly reduced ICP but CBF remained unchanged vs the FP (Figure). Conclusion: During E-CPR whole body TUC reduced ICP without lowering CBF compared with E-CPR flat. Additional investigations with prolonged TUC and selective head and thorax elevation during E-CPR are warranted.


EP Europace ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. I. Chrysostomakis ◽  
N. C. Klapsinos ◽  
E. N. Simantirakis ◽  
M. E. Marketou ◽  
D. C. Kambouraki ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims The newer insertable loop recorder device (Reveal Plus 9526, Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis MN, U.S.A.) is equipped with auto-activation capabilities. In this study we investigated whether the new device encounters sensitivity problems in the form of oversensing or undersensing. We also tested whether body position changes influence the sensed electrogram's amplitude, therefore affecting the device's autosensing ability. Methods and results We enrolled 32 patients aged 58·1±11·7 years with a loop recorder implanted either in the left parasternal or in the heart's apex area, to investigate undiagnosed syncopal episodes after initial assessment. During the follow-up period (5·7±2·7 months), that began 6 months after the device implantation, we analysed 284 auto-recorded episodes (103 undersensed and 181 correctly sensed). No oversensing episodes were recorded. The recorded QRS amplitude in five different body positions: supine, left and right lateral, sitting and standing was measured. No statistically significant changes were observed in the different postures. Even when patients were divided into subgroups according to implant site or the occurrence of undersensing episodes, no significant inter- or intra-group differences of the sensed electrogram were observed. Conclusion Undoubtedly this device is the current gold standard for the diagnosis of unexplained syncope. In the population we studied though, the device faced undersensing problems. Consequently, the device should be equipped with more advanced software for QRS morphology recognition, to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the recorder.


1981 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph U. Toglia ◽  
David Thomas ◽  
Arieh Kuritzky

Even though “classic migraine” and “complicated migraine” may be diagnosed readily, “common migraine” may be easily confused with other types of vascular headaches. This differential diagnosis is of great importance for the appropriate choice of drug therapy. It is frequently stated that family history of migraine and history of motion sickness in childhood suggest that a periodic vascular headache is most likely of migrainous origin; although this statement applies to ophthalmoplegic and hemiplegic migraine, it is doubtful that it applies to common migraine. In fact, in a pilot study of patients with common migraine, we have observed that family history and history of motion sickness in childhood did not contribute to the diagnosis. Vestibular dysfunctions are frequently associated with migraine including the common type. Utilizing labyrinthine tests with the aid of electronystagmography, abnormalities of labyrinth function were demonstrated in 80% of patients with common migraine who had no history of vertigo or of other otological and neurological disorders.


2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 2264-2280 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A.A. Vingerhoets ◽  
W. P. Medendorp ◽  
J.A.M. Van Gisbergen

To assess the effects of degrading canal cues for dynamic spatial orientation in human observers, we tested how judgments about visual-line orientation in space (subjective visual vertical task, SVV) and estimates of instantaneous body tilt (subjective body-tilt task, SBT) develop in the course of three cycles of constant-velocity roll rotation. These abilities were tested across the entire tilt range in separate experiments. For comparison, we also obtained SVV data during static roll tilt. We found that as tilt increased, dynamic SVV responses became strongly biased toward the head pole of the body axis (A-effect), as if body tilt was underestimated. However, on entering the range of near-inverse tilts, SVV responses adopted a bimodal pattern, alternating between A-effects (biased toward head-pole) and E-effects (biased toward feet-pole). Apart from an onset effect, this tilt-dependent pattern of systematic SVV errors repeated itself in subsequent rotation cycles with little sign of worsening performance. Static SVV responses were qualitatively similar and consistent with previous reports but showed smaller A-effects. By contrast, dynamic SBT errors were small and unimodal, indicating that errors in visual-verticality estimates were not caused by errors in body-tilt estimation. We discuss these results in terms of predictions from a canal-otolith interaction model extended with a leaky integrator and an egocentric bias mechanism. We conclude that the egocentric-bias mechanism becomes more manifest during constant velocity roll-rotation and that perceptual errors due to incorrect disambiguation of the otolith signal are small despite the decay of canal signals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 158 (52) ◽  
pp. 2079-2085
Author(s):  
Máté Burkus ◽  
István Márkus ◽  
Bálint Niklai ◽  
Miklós Tunyogi-Csapó

Abstract: Introduction: Sagittal alignment of the pelvis is typically characterized using three fundamental parameters. Among these, pelvic incidence is traditionally considered to be anatomically ‘constant’. Aim: We aimed to analyze the pelvic parameters of low back pain patients with suspected sacroiliac joint laxity. Method: Pelvic parameters were assessed in standing and seated EOS 2D/3D radiographs of 48 cases of persistent low back pain, and compared to upper body position using cluster analysis and t-test. Results: Median pelvic incidence did not differ statistically between standing and sitting (47.8°–47.7°). However, in individual analysis 7 cases (15%) exhibited a forward tilt in their upper body with an increased pelvic incidence, and 7 cases (15%) showed a backward upper body tilt. No change was found in 34 cases. Conclusion: Our results indicate the pelvis should not be regarded as a rigid unit, as in some cases significant appreciable sacroiliac joint laxity can occur. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(52): 2079–2085.


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