How to use body tilt for the simulation of linear self motion

2004 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.L. Groen ◽  
W. Bles

We examined to what extent body tilt may augment the perception of visually simulated linear self acceleration. Fourteen subjects judged visual motion profiles of fore-aft motion at four different frequencies between 0.04âĂŞ0.33 Hz, and at three different acceleration amplitudes (0.44, 0.88 and 1.76 m / s 2 ). Simultaneously, subjects were tilted backward and forward about their pitch axis. The amplitude of pitch tilt was systematically varied. Using a two-alternative-forced-choice paradigm, psychometric curves were calculated in order to determine: 1) the minimum tilt amplitude required to generate a linear self-motion percept in more than 50% of the cases, and 2) the maximum tilt amplitude at which rotation remains sub-threshold in more than 50% of the cases. The results showed that the simulation of linear self motion became more realistic with the application of whole body tilt, as long as the tilt rate remained under the detection threshold of about 3 deg/s. This value is in close agreement with the empirical rate limit commonly used in flight simulation. The minimum required motion cue was inversely proportional to stimulus frequency, and increased with the amplitude of the visual displacement (rather than acceleration). As a consequence, the range of useful tilt stimuli became more critical with increasing stimulus frequency. We conclude that this psychophysical approach reveals valid parameters for motion driving algorithms used in motion base simulators.

Vision ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Pearl Guterman ◽  
Robert Allison

When the head is tilted, an objectively vertical line viewed in isolation is typically perceived as tilted. We explored whether this shift also occurs when viewing global motion displays perceived as either object-motion or self-motion. Observers stood and lay left side down while viewing (1) a static line, (2) a random-dot display of 2-D (planar) motion or (3) a random-dot display of 3-D (volumetric) global motion. On each trial, the line orientation or motion direction were tilted from the gravitational vertical and observers indicated whether the tilt was clockwise or counter-clockwise from the perceived vertical. Psychometric functions were fit to the data and shifts in the point of subjective verticality (PSV) were measured. When the whole body was tilted, the perceived tilt of both a static line and the direction of optic flow were biased in the direction of the body tilt, demonstrating the so-called A-effect. However, we found significantly larger shifts for the static line than volumetric global motion as well as larger shifts for volumetric displays than planar displays. The A-effect was larger when the motion was experienced as self-motion compared to when it was experienced as object-motion. Discrimination thresholds were also more precise in the self-motion compared to object-motion conditions. Different magnitude A-effects for the line and motion conditions—and for object and self-motion—may be due to differences in combining of idiotropic (body) and vestibular signals, particularly so in the case of vection which occurs despite visual-vestibular conflict.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Mario Faralli ◽  
Michele Ori ◽  
Giampietro Ricci ◽  
Mauro Roscini ◽  
Roberto Panichi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Self-motion misperception has been observed in vestibular patients during asymmetric body oscillations. This misperception is correlated with the patient’s vestibular discomfort. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether or not self-motion misperception persists in post-ictal patients with Ménière’s disease (MD). METHODS: Twenty-eight MD patients were investigated while in the post-ictal interval. Self-motion perception was studied by examining the displacement of a memorized visual target after sequences of opposite directed fast-slow asymmetric whole body rotations in the dark. The difference in target representation was analyzed and correlated with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) score. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and clinical tests for ocular reflex were also evaluated. RESULTS: All MD patients showed a noticeable difference in target representation after asymmetric rotation depending on the direction of the fast/slow rotations. This side difference suggests disruption of motion perception. The DHI score was correlated with the amount of motion misperception. In contrast, VOR and clinical trials were altered in only half of these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Asymmetric rotation reveals disruption of self-motion perception in MD patients during the post-ictal interval, even in the absence of ocular reflex impairment. Motion misperception may cause persistent vestibular discomfort in these patients.


1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1147-1156 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Schor ◽  
I. Suzuki ◽  
S. J. Timerick ◽  
V. J. Wilson

The responses of interneurons in the cervical spinal cord of the decerebrate cat to whole-body tilt were studied with a goal of identifying spinal elements in the production of forelimb vestibular postural reflexes. Interneurons both in the cervical enlargement and at higher levels, from which propriospinal neurons have been identified, were examined, both in animals with intact labyrinths and in animals with nonfunctional semicircular canals (canal plugged). Most cervical interneurons responding to tilt respond best to rotations in vertical planes aligned within 30 degrees of the roll plane. Two to three times as many neurons are excited by side-up roll tilt as are excited by side-down roll. In cats with intact labyrinths, most responses have dynamics proportional either to (and in phase with) the position of the animal or to a sum of position and tilt velocity. This is consistent with input from both otolith organs and semicircular canals. In animals without functioning canals, the "velocity" response is absent. In a few cells (8 out of 76), a more complex response, characterized by an increasing gain and progressive phase lag, was observed. These response dynamics characterize the forelimb reflex in canal-plugged cats and have been previously observed in vestibular neurons in such preparations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 1440003
Author(s):  
KAP-SOO HAN ◽  
CHANG HO YU ◽  
MYOUNG-HWAN KO ◽  
TAE KYU KWON

The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of 3D stabilization exercises using a whole body tilt device on forces in the trunk, such as individual muscle forces and activation patterns, maximum muscle activities and spine loads. For this sake, a musculoskeletal (MS) model of the whole body was developed, and an inverse dynamics analysis was performed to predict the forces on the spine. An EMG measurement experiment was conducted to validate the muscle forces and activation patterns. The MS model was rotated and tilted in eight different directions: anterior (A), posterior (P), anterior right (AR), posterior right (PR), anterior left (AL), posterior left (PL), right (R) and left (L), replicating the directions of the 3D spine balance exercise device, as performed in the experiment. The anterior directions of the tilt primarily induced the activation of long and superficial back muscles and the posterior directions activated the front muscles. However, deep muscles, such as short muscles and multifidi, were activated in all directions of the tilt. The resultant joint forces in the right and left directions of the tilt were the least among the directions, but higher muscle activations and more diverse muscle recruitments than other positions were observed. Therefore, these directions of tilt may be suitable for the elderly and rehabilitation patients who require muscle strengthening with less spinal loads. In the present investigation, it was shown that 3D stabilization exercises could provide considerable muscle exercise effects with a minimum perturbation of structure. The results of this study can be used to provide safety guidelines for muscle exercises using this type of tilting device. Therefore, the proposed direction of tilt can be used to strengthen targeted muscles, depending on the patients' muscular condition.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Bianca Leonte ◽  
Aljoscha Leonhardt ◽  
Alexander Borst ◽  
Alex S. Mauss

AbstractVisual motion detection is among the best understood neuronal computations. One assumed behavioural role is to detect self-motion and to counteract involuntary course deviations, extensively investigated in tethered walking or flying flies. In free flight, however, any deviation from a straight course is signalled by both the visual system as well as by proprioceptive mechanoreceptors called ‘halteres’, which are the equivalent of the vestibular system in vertebrates. Therefore, it is yet unclear to what extent motion vision contributes to course control, or whether straight flight is completely controlled by proprioceptive feedback from the halteres. To answer these questions, we genetically rendered flies motion-blind by blocking their primary motion-sensitive neurons and quantified their free-flight performance. We found that such flies have difficulties maintaining a straight flight trajectory, much like control flies in the dark. By unilateral wing clipping, we generated an asymmetry in propulsory force and tested the ability of flies to compensate for this perturbation. While wild-type flies showed a remarkable level of compensation, motion-blind animals exhibited pronounced circling behaviour. Our results therefore unequivocally demonstrate that motion vision is necessary to fly straight under realistic conditions.


i-Perception ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 204166952110557
Author(s):  
Diederick C. Niehorster

The concept of optic flow, a global pattern of visual motion that is both caused by and signals self-motion, is canonically ascribed to James Gibson's 1950 book “ The Perception of the Visual World.” There have, however, been several other developments of this concept, chiefly by Gwilym Grindley and Edward Calvert. Based on rarely referenced scientific literature and archival research, this article describes the development of the concept of optic flow by the aforementioned authors and several others. The article furthermore presents the available evidence for interactions between these authors, focusing on whether parts of Gibson's proposal were derived from the work of Grindley or Calvert. While Grindley's work may have made Gibson aware of the geometrical facts of optic flow, Gibson's work is not derivative of Grindley's. It is furthermore shown that Gibson only learned of Calvert's work in 1956, almost a decade after Gibson first published his proposal. In conclusion, the development of the concept of optic flow presents an intriguing example of convergent thought in the progress of science.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (32) ◽  
pp. e2106235118
Author(s):  
Reuben Rideaux ◽  
Katherine R. Storrs ◽  
Guido Maiello ◽  
Andrew E. Welchman

Sitting in a static railway carriage can produce illusory self-motion if the train on an adjoining track moves off. While our visual system registers motion, vestibular signals indicate that we are stationary. The brain is faced with a difficult challenge: is there a single cause of sensations (I am moving) or two causes (I am static, another train is moving)? If a single cause, integrating signals produces a more precise estimate of self-motion, but if not, one cue should be ignored. In many cases, this process of causal inference works without error, but how does the brain achieve it? Electrophysiological recordings show that the macaque medial superior temporal area contains many neurons that encode combinations of vestibular and visual motion cues. Some respond best to vestibular and visual motion in the same direction (“congruent” neurons), while others prefer opposing directions (“opposite” neurons). Congruent neurons could underlie cue integration, but the function of opposite neurons remains a puzzle. Here, we seek to explain this computational arrangement by training a neural network model to solve causal inference for motion estimation. Like biological systems, the model develops congruent and opposite units and recapitulates known behavioral and neurophysiological observations. We show that all units (both congruent and opposite) contribute to motion estimation. Importantly, however, it is the balance between their activity that distinguishes whether visual and vestibular cues should be integrated or separated. This explains the computational purpose of puzzling neural representations and shows how a relatively simple feedforward network can solve causal inference.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261266
Author(s):  
Maëlle Tixier ◽  
Stéphane Rousset ◽  
Pierre-Alain Barraud ◽  
Corinne Cian

A large body of research has shown that visually induced self-motion (vection) and cognitive processing may interfere with each other. The aim of this study was to assess the interactive effects of a visual motion inducing vection (uniform motion in roll) versus a visual motion without vection (non-uniform motion) and long-term memory processing using the characteristics of standing posture (quiet stance). As the level of interference may be related to the nature of the cognitive tasks used, we examined the effect of visual motion on a memory task which requires a spatial process (episodic recollection) versus a memory task which does not require this process (semantic comparisons). Results confirm data of the literature showing that compensatory postural response in the same direction as background motion. Repeatedly watching visual uniform motion or increasing the cognitive load with a memory task did not decrease postural deviations. Finally, participants were differentially controlling their balance according to the memory task but this difference was significant only in the vection condition and in the plane of background motion. Increased sway regularity (decreased entropy) combined with decreased postural stability (increase variance) during vection for the episodic task would indicate an ineffective postural control. The different interference of episodic and semantic memory on posture during visual motion is consistent with the involvement of spatial processes during episodic memory recollection. It can be suggested that spatial disorientation due to visual roll motion preferentially interferes with spatial cognitive tasks, as spatial tasks can draw on resources expended to control posture.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Séamas Weech ◽  
Nikolaus F. Troje

Studies of the illusory sense of self-motion elicited by a moving visual surround (‘vection’) have revealed key insights about how sensory information is integrated. Vection usually occurs after a delay of several seconds following visual motion onset, whereas self-motion in the natural environment is perceived immediately. It has been suggested that this latency relates to the sensory mismatch between visual and vestibular signals at motion onset. Here, we tested three techniques with the potential to reduce sensory mismatch in order to shorten vection onset latency: noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) and bone conducted vibration (BCV) at the mastoid processes, and body vibration applied to the lower back. In Experiment 1, we examined vection latency for wide field visual rotations about the roll axis and applied a burst of stimulation at the start of visual motion. Both GVS and BCV reduced vection latency by two seconds compared to the control condition, whereas body vibration had no effect on latency. In Experiment 2, the visual stimulus rotated about the pitch, roll, or yaw axis and we found a similar facilitation of vection by both BCV and GVS in each case. In a control experiment, we confirmed that air-conducted sound administered through headphones was not sufficient to reduce vection onset latency. Together the results suggest that noisy vestibular stimulation facilitates vection, likely due to an upweighting of visual information caused by a reduction in vestibular sensory reliability.


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