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Arshad I, Gallagher M, Ferrè ER. Visuo-vestibular conflicts within the roll plane modulate multisensory verticality perception. Neurosci Lett 2023; 792:136963. [PMID: 36375625 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136963] [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: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The integration of visuo-vestibular information is crucial when interacting with the external environment. Under normal circumstances, vision and vestibular signals provide corroborating information, for example regarding the direction and speed of self-motion. However, conflicts in visuo-vestibular signalling, such as optic flow presented to a stationary observer, can change subsequent processing in either modality. While previous studies have demonstrated the impact of sensory conflict on unisensory visual or vestibular percepts, here we investigated whether visuo-vestibular conflicts impact sensitivity to multisensory percepts, specifically verticality. Participants were exposed to a visuo-vestibular conflicting or non-conflicting motion adaptor before completing a Vertical Detection Task. Sensitivity to vertical stimuli was reduced following visuo-vestibular conflict. No significant differences in criterion were found. Our findings suggest that visuo-vestibular conflicts not only modulate processing in unimodal channels, but also broader multisensory percepts, which may have implications for higher-level processing dependent on the integration of visual and vestibular signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Arshad
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck University of London, United Kingdom
| | - M Gallagher
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, United Kingdom; School of Psychology, University of Kent, United Kingdom.
| | - E R Ferrè
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck University of London, United Kingdom
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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 PMCID: PMC9188304 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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Shayman CS, Peterka RJ, Gallun FJ, Oh Y, Chang NYN, Hullar TE. Frequency-dependent integration of auditory and vestibular cues for self-motion perception. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:936-944. [PMID: 31940239 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00307.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence has shown that auditory information may be used to improve postural stability, spatial orientation, navigation, and gait, suggesting an auditory component of self-motion perception. To determine how auditory and other sensory cues integrate for self-motion perception, we measured motion perception during yaw rotations of the body and the auditory environment. Psychophysical thresholds in humans were measured over a range of frequencies (0.1-1.0 Hz) during self-rotation without spatial auditory stimuli, rotation of a sound source around a stationary listener, and self-rotation in the presence of an earth-fixed sound source. Unisensory perceptual thresholds and the combined multisensory thresholds were found to be frequency dependent. Auditory thresholds were better at lower frequencies, and vestibular thresholds were better at higher frequencies. Expressed in terms of peak angular velocity, multisensory vestibular and auditory thresholds ranged from 0.39°/s at 0.1 Hz to 0.95°/s at 1.0 Hz and were significantly better over low frequencies than either the auditory-only (0.54°/s to 2.42°/s at 0.1 and 1.0 Hz, respectively) or vestibular-only (2.00°/s to 0.75°/s at 0.1 and 1.0 Hz, respectively) unisensory conditions. Monaurally presented auditory cues were less effective than binaural cues in lowering multisensory thresholds. Frequency-independent thresholds were derived, assuming that vestibular thresholds depended on a weighted combination of velocity and acceleration cues, whereas auditory thresholds depended on displacement and velocity cues. These results elucidate fundamental mechanisms for the contribution of audition to balance and help explain previous findings, indicating its significance in tasks requiring self-orientation.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Auditory information can be integrated with visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular signals to improve balance, orientation, and gait, but this process is poorly understood. Here, we show that auditory cues significantly improve sensitivity to self-motion perception below 0.5 Hz, whereas vestibular cues contribute more at higher frequencies. Motion thresholds are determined by a weighted combination of displacement, velocity, and acceleration information. These findings may help understand and treat imbalance, particularly in people with sensory deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corey S Shayman
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.,School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Robert J Peterka
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.,National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research-VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon
| | - Frederick J Gallun
- National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research-VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon.,Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Yonghee Oh
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Nai-Yuan N Chang
- Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences-Division of Bioengineering and Biomaterials, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Timothy E Hullar
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.,Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.,National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research-VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon
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