The disappearing hand: vestibular stimulation does not improve hand localisation

Background Bodily self-consciousness depends on the coherent integration of sensory information. In addition to visual and somatosensory information processing, vestibular contributions have been proposed and investigated. Vestibular information seems especially important for self-location, but remains difficult to study. Methods This randomised controlled experiment used the MIRAGE multisensory illusion box to induce a conflict between the visually- and proprioceptively-encoded position of one hand. Over time, the perceived location of the hand slowly shifts, due to the fact that proprioceptive input is progressively weighted more heavily than the visual input. We hypothesised that left cold caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) augments this shift in hand localisation. Results The results from 24 healthy participants do not support our hypothesis: CVS had no effect on the estimations with which the perceived position of the hand shifted from the visually- to the proprioceptively-encoded position. Participants were more likely to report that their hand was ‘no longer there’ after CVS. Taken together, neither the physical nor the subjective data provide evidence for vestibular enhanced self-location.

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Vestibular Stimulation Modulates Neural Correlates of Own-body Mental Imagery

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01496 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 484-496 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Manuel P. Klaus ◽

Gerda C. Wyssen ◽

Sebastian M. Frank ◽

Wilhelm M. Malloni ◽

Mark W. Greenlee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processes ◽

Parietal Lobe ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Vestibular Stimulation ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Inferior Parietal Lobe ◽

Caloric Vestibular Stimulation ◽

Neural Integration ◽

Vestibular Information ◽

Main Effects

There is growing evidence that vestibular information is not only involved in reflexive eye movements and the control of posture but it also plays an important role in higher order cognitive processes. Previous behavioral research has shown that concomitant vestibular stimuli influence performance in tasks that involve imagined self-rotations. These results suggest that imagined and perceived body rotations share common mechanisms. However, the nature and specificity of these effects remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying this vestibulocognitive interaction. Participants ( n = 20) solved an imagined self-rotation task during caloric vestibular stimulation. We found robust main effects of caloric vestibular stimulation in the core region of the vestibular network, including the rolandic operculum and insula bilaterally, and of the cognitive task in parietal and frontal regions. Interestingly, we found an interaction of stimulation and task in the left inferior parietal lobe, suggesting that this region represents the modulation of imagined body rotations by vestibular input. This result provides evidence that the inferior parietal lobe plays a crucial role in the neural integration of mental and physical body rotation.

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Subjective visual vertical in patients with Usher syndrome

Journal of Vestibular Research ◽

10.3233/ves-200711 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 275-282

Author(s):

Moetez Baghdadi ◽

Simona Caldani ◽

Audrey Maudoux ◽

Isabelle Audo ◽

Maria Pia Bucci ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Usher Syndrome ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Vestibular Function ◽

Type I ◽

Subjective Visual Vertical ◽

Vestibular Information ◽

Visual Vertical ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Healthy Participants

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.

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