Podokinetic After-Rotation Is Transiently Enhanced or Reversed by Unilateral Axial Muscle Proprioceptive Stimulation

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2019/7129279 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stefania Sozzi ◽

Antonio Nardone ◽

Oscar Crisafulli ◽

Marco Schieppati

Keyword(s):

Angular Velocity ◽

Rotation Velocity ◽

Whole Body ◽

Common Mechanism ◽

Muscle Vibration ◽

Body Rotation ◽

Lumbar Level ◽

Axial Muscle ◽

Paravertebral Muscles ◽

Stepping In Place

Unilateral axial muscle vibration, eliciting a proprioceptive volley, is known to incite steering behavior. Whole-body rotation while stepping in place also occurs as an after-effect of stepping on a circular treadmill (podokinetic after-rotation, PKAR). Here, we tested the hypothesis that PKAR is modulated by axial muscle vibration. If both phenomena operate through a common pathway, enhancement or cancellation of body rotation would occur depending on the stimulated side when vibration is administered concurrently with PKAR. Seventeen subjects participated in the study. In one session, subjects stepped in place eyes open on the center of a platform that rotated counterclockwise 60°/s for 10 min. When the platform stopped, subjects continued stepping in place blindfolded. In other session, a vibratory stimulus (100 Hz, 2 min) was administered to right or left paravertebral muscles at lumbar level at two intervals during the PKAR. We computed angular body velocity and foot step angles from markers fixed to shoulders and feet. During PKAR, all subjects rotated clockwise. Decreased angular velocity was induced by right vibration. Conversely, when vibration was administered to the left, clockwise rotation velocity increased. The combined effect on body rotation depended on the time at which vibration was administered during PKAR. Under all conditions, foot step angle was coherent with shoulder angular velocity. PKAR results from continuous asymmetric input from the muscles producing leg rotation, while axial muscle vibration elicits a proprioceptive asymmetric input. Both conditioning procedures appear to produce their effects through a common mechanism. We suggest that both stimulations would affect our straight ahead by combining their effects in an algebraic mode.

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Responses of Primate Caudal Parabrachial Nucleus and Kölliker-Fuse Nucleus Neurons to Whole Body Rotation

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00499.2002 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 88 (6) ◽

pp. 3175-3193 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Carey D. Balaban ◽

David M. McGee ◽

Jianxun Zhou ◽

Charles A. Scudder

Keyword(s):

Angular Velocity ◽

Vertical Plane ◽

Affective Responses ◽

Macaca Nemestrina ◽

Whole Body ◽

Vertical Position ◽

Limbic Cortex ◽

Body Rotation ◽

Spatial Tuning ◽

Position Sensitive

The caudal aspect of the parabrachial (PBN) and Kölliker-Fuse (KF) nuclei receive vestibular nuclear and visceral afferent information and are connected reciprocally with the spinal cord, hypothalamus, amygdala, and limbic cortex. Hence, they may be important sites of vestibulo-visceral integration, particularly for the development of affective responses to gravitoinertial challenges. Extracellular recordings were made from caudal PBN cells in three alert, adult female Macaca nemestrina through an implanted chamber. Sinusoidal and position trapezoid angular whole body rotation was delivered in yaw, roll, pitch, and vertical semicircular canal planes. Sites were confirmed histologically. Units that responded during rotation were located in lateral and medial PBN and KF caudal to the trochlear nerve at sites that were confirmed anatomically to receive superior vestibular nucleus afferents. Responses to whole-body angular rotation were modeled as a sum of three signals: angular velocity, a leaky integration of angular velocity, and vertical position. All neurons displayed angular velocity and integrated angular velocity sensitivity, but only 60% of the neurons were position-sensitive. These responses to vertical rotation could display symmetric, asymmetric, or fully rectified cosinusoidal spatial tuning about a best orientation in different cells. The spatial properties of velocity and integrated velocity and position responses were independent for all position-sensitive neurons; the angular velocity and integrated angular velocity signals showed independent spatial tuning in the position-insensitive neurons. Individual units showed one of three different orientations of their excitatory axis of velocity rotation sensitivity: vertical-plane-only responses, positive elevation responses (vertical plane plus ipsilateral yaw), and negative elevation axis responses (vertical plane plus negative yaw). The interactions between the velocity and integrated velocity components also produced variations in the temporal pattern of responses as a function of rotation direction. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that a vestibulorecipient region of the PBN and KF integrates signals from the vestibular nuclei and relay information about changes in whole-body orientation to pathways that produce homeostatic and affective responses.

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Neck Muscle Vibration and Spatial Orientation During Stepping in Place in Humans

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00198.2002 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 88 (5) ◽

pp. 2232-2241 ◽

Cited By ~ 90

Author(s):

Marco Bove ◽

Gregoire Courtine ◽

Marco Schieppati

Keyword(s):

The Body ◽

Body Orientation ◽

Body Tilt ◽

Whole Body ◽

Neck Muscle ◽

Body Rotation ◽

Erect Posture ◽

Proprioceptive Input ◽

Neck Muscle Vibration ◽

Stepping In Place

Unilateral long-lasting vibration was applied to the sternomastoid muscle to assess the influence of asymmetric neck proprioceptive input on body orientation during stepping-in-place. Blindfolded subjects performed 3 sequences of 3 trials, each lasting 60 s: control, vibration applied during stepping (VDS), and vibration applied before stepping (VBS). VDS caused clear-cut whole body rotation toward the side opposite to vibration. The body rotated around a vertical axis placed at about arm's length from the body. The rotation did not begin immediately on switching on the vibrator. The delay varied from subject to subject from a few seconds to about 10 s. Once initiated, the angular velocity of rotation was remarkably constant (about 1°/s). In VBS, at the beginning of stepping, subjects rotated for a while as if their neck were still vibrated. At a variable delay, the direction of rotation reversed, and the effects were opposite to those observed during VDS. Under no condition did head rotation, head roll, or lateral body tilt accompany rotation. The results confirm and extend the notion that the neck proprioceptive input plays a major role in body orientation during locomotion. The body rotation does not seem to depend on the same mechanisms that modify the erect posture; rather, the asymmetric neck input would seem to modify the egocentric body-centered coordinate system.

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Influence of Leg Muscle Vibration on Human Walking

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.2000.84.4.1737 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 84 (4) ◽

pp. 1737-1747 ◽

Cited By ~ 85

Author(s):

Y. P. Ivanenko ◽

R. Grasso ◽

F. Lacquaniti

Keyword(s):

Stance Phase ◽

Walking Speed ◽

Triceps Surae ◽

Body Tilt ◽

Whole Body ◽

Muscle Vibration ◽

Eyes Closed ◽

Thigh Muscles ◽

Leg Muscle ◽

Stepping In Place

We studied the effect of vibratory stimulation of different leg muscles [bilateral quadriceps (Q), hamstring (HS) muscles, triceps surae (TS), and tibialis anterior (TA)] in seven normal subjects during 1) quiet standing, 2) stepping in place movements, and 3) walking on the treadmill. The experiments were performed in a dimly illuminated room, and the subjects were given the instruction not to resist the applied perturbation. In one condition the velocity of the treadmill was controlled by a feedback from the subject's current position. In normal standing, TA vibration elicited a prominent forward body tilt, whereas HS and TS vibration elicited backward trunk or whole body inclination, respectively. Q vibration had little effect. During stepping in place, continuous HS vibration produced an involuntary forward stepping at about 0.3 m s− 1 without modifying the stepping frequency. When the subjects (with eyes closed) kept a hand contact with an external still object, they did not move forward but perceived an illusory forward leg flexion relative to the trunk. Q, TS, and TA vibration did not cause any systematic body translation nor illusory changes in body configuration. In treadmill locomotion, HS vibration produced an involuntary steplike increase of walking speed (by 0.1–0.6 m·s− 1). Continuous vibration elicited larger speed increments than phasic stimulation during swing or stance phase. For phasic stimulation, HS vibration tended to be more effective when applied during swing than during stance phase. Q, TA, and TS vibration had little if any effect. Vibration of thigh muscles altered the walking speed depending on the direction of progression. During backward locomotion, the walking speed tended to decrease after HS vibration, whereas it significantly increased after Q vibration. Thus the influence of leg muscle vibration on stepping in place and locomotion differed significantly from that on normal posture. We suggest that the proprioceptive input from thigh muscles may convey information about the velocity of the foot movement relative to the trunk.

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Therapy-Resistant Atypical Downbeat Nystagmus with Vertigo Confined to Specific Head-Hanging Positions: Mapping to the Gravity Vector on a Multi-Axis Turntable

Case Reports in Neurology ◽

10.1159/000517840 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 464-469

Author(s):

Dominik Péus ◽

Dominik Straumann ◽

Alexander Huber ◽

Christopher J. Bockisch ◽

Vincent Wettstein

Keyword(s):

Hair Cells ◽

Whole Body ◽

Downbeat Nystagmus ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Body Rotation ◽

Therapeutic Approaches ◽

Atypical Case ◽

Anterior Semicircular Canal ◽

Head Positions ◽

Peripheral Origin

Downbeat nystagmus (DBN) observed in head-hanging positions, may be of central or peripheral origin. Central DBN in head-hanging positions is mostly due to a disorder of the vestibulo-cerebellum, whereas peripheral DBN is usually attributed to canalolithiasis of an anterior semicircular canal. Here, we describe an atypical case of a patient who, after head trauma, experienced severe and stereotypic vertigo attacks after being placed in various head-hanging positions. Vertigo lasted 10–15 s and was always associated with a robust DBN. The provocation of transient vertigo and DBN, which both showed no decrease upon repetition of maneuvers, depended on the yaw orientation relative to the trunk and the angle of backward pitch. On a motorized, multi-axis turntable, we identified the two-dimensional Helmholtz coordinates of head positions at which vertigo and DBN occurred (y-axis: horizontal, space-fixed; z-axis: vertical, and head-fixed; x-axis: torsional, head-fixed, and unchanged). This two-dimensional area of DBN-associated head positions did not change when whole-body rotations took different paths (e.g., by forwarding pitch) or were executed with different velocities. Moreover, the intensity of DBN was also independent of whole-body rotation paths and velocities. So far, therapeutic approaches with repeated liberation maneuvers and cranial vibrations were not successful. We speculate that vertigo and DBN in this patient are due to macular damage, possibly an unstable otolithic membrane that, in specific orientations relative to gravity, slips into a position causing paroxysmal stimulation or inhibition of macular hair cells.

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Stance- and Locomotion-Dependent Processing of Vibration-Induced Proprioceptive Inflow From Multiple Muscles in Humans

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00764.2006 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 97 (1) ◽

pp. 772-779 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Grégoire Courtine ◽

Alessandro Marco De Nunzio ◽

Micaela Schmid ◽

Maria Vittoria Beretta ◽

Marco Schieppati

Keyword(s):

Lower Limb ◽

The Body ◽

Whole Body ◽

Neck Muscle ◽

Muscle Vibration ◽

Mapping Study ◽

Body Mapping ◽

Neck Muscle Vibration ◽

Postural Changes ◽

Postural Orientation

We performed a whole-body mapping study of the effect of unilateral muscle vibration, eliciting spindle Ia firing, on the control of standing and walking in humans. During quiet stance, vibration applied to various muscles of the trunk-neck system and of the lower limb elicited a significant tilt in whole body postural orientation. The direction of vibration-induced postural tilt was consistent with a response compensatory for the illusory lengthening of the stimulated muscles. During walking, trunk-neck muscle vibration induced ample deviations of the locomotor trajectory toward the side opposite to the stimulation site. In contrast, no significant modifications of the locomotor trajectory could be detected when vibrating various muscles of the lower as well as upper limb. The absence of correlation between the effects of muscle vibration during walking and standing dismisses the possibility that vibration-induced postural changes can account for the observed deviations of the locomotor trajectory during walking. We conclude that the dissimilar effects of trunk-neck and lower limb muscle vibration during walking and standing reflect a general sensory-motor plan, whereby muscle Ia input is processed according to both the performed task and the body segment from which the sensory inflow arises.

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Antihysteresis of perceived longitudinal body axis during continuous quasi-static whole-body rotation in the earth-vertical roll plane

Experimental Brain Research ◽

10.1007/s00221-011-2572-8 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 209 (3) ◽

pp. 443-454

Author(s):

M. Tatalias ◽

C. J. Bockisch ◽

G. Bertolini ◽

D. Straumann ◽

A. Palla

Keyword(s):

Body Axis ◽

Whole Body ◽

Body Rotation ◽

Longitudinal Body Axis ◽

Vertical Roll ◽

The Earth

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Sensorimotor and Perceptual Function of Muscle Proprioception in Microgravity

Journal of Vestibular Research ◽

10.3233/ves-1993-3307 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 259-273

Author(s):

J.P. Roll ◽

K. Popov ◽

V. Gurfinkel ◽

M. Lipshits ◽

C. André-Deshays ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Behavior ◽

Tibialis Anterior Muscle ◽

Sensory Function ◽

Whole Body ◽

Proprioceptive Information ◽

Muscle Vibration ◽

Flexor Muscle ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Postural Responses ◽

Third Dimension

Adaptive properties of the human proprioceptive systems were studied during the French-Soviet orbital flight (Aragatz mission, December 1988). The present space experiment investigated the hypothesis that the modifications of both biomechanical and physiological conditions occurring under microgravity involve considerable reorganization of body perception and postural control. The proprioceptive information originating in muscles is known to contribute, together with visual, vestibular, and sole cutaneous information to postural regulation. Moreover, by specifically activating the proprioceptive channel, muscle vibration is able to elicit both illusory movement sensations and postural responses. This experimental tool was used in microgravity in order to test various aspects of muscle sensory function. Ankle flexor and extensor vibration was applied under different experimental conditions. Quantitative analysis of motor responses was carried out on leg muscle EMG, goniometric, and kinesigraphic recordings. Joystick recordings and astronauts’ comments were used to describe the kinaesthetic sensations. The main results were as follows: 1) Under microgravity, the sensitivity of muscle receptors remains unchanged. 2) During the flight, the tonic vibration reflexes (TVR) increased significantly in flexor muscles, which exhibited a sustained tonic activity. 3) The whole-body postural responses normally induced by ankle flexor muscle vibration were suppressed, whereas they remained unchanged or were only reduced when vibrations were applied to the ankle extensor muscles. In all cases, the postural response velocity decreased. 4) A disfacilitation of the vibration-induced postural illusions was observed to occur during long-term exposure to microgravity. These illusions became atypical however. For example: body lift illusion could be induced by tibialis anterior muscle vibration, whereas it was never induced in the controls. The characteristics of the illusory body movements described under normal gravity can be restored by artificially increasing the axial foot support forces during the flight. In conclusion, these data suggest that a functional reorganization of the proprioceptive information processing occurs in microgravity, affecting both perceptual and motor aspects of behavior. It is possible that these proprioceptive adaptations may be partly attributable to the new whole-body propulsive foot functions imposed by exposure to weightlessness and to the adaptation of motor behavior to the third dimension of space.

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Binary Orbit Perturbations and the Rotational Angular Momentum of Stellar Interiors

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100027184 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 187-192

Author(s):

Stanley Sobieski

Keyword(s):

Angular Momentum ◽

Angular Velocity ◽

Significant Variation ◽

Eclipsing Binaries ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Body Rotation ◽

Solid Body Rotation ◽

Stellar Interiors ◽

Binary Orbit ◽

Photometric Variation

AbstractCalculations show that a significant variation in the minima of eclipsing binaries should arise for systems where axial precession exists. Several different angular velocity distributions are assumed in order to estimate the expected photometric variation as a function of the model parameters. It is found that the solid body rotation approximation is a reasonable representation unless interiors rotate more rapidly than present models predict.

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Role of the Cerebellar Flocculus Region in the Coordination of Eye and Head Movements During Gaze Pursuit

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.2000.84.3.1614 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 84 (3) ◽

pp. 1614-1626 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Timothy Belton ◽

Robert A. McCrea

Keyword(s):

Eye Movements ◽

Smooth Pursuit ◽

Head Movements ◽

Whole Body ◽

Head Tracking ◽

Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements ◽

Body Rotation ◽

Pursuit Eye Movements ◽

Smooth Tracking ◽

Eye Velocity

The contribution of the flocculus region of the cerebellum to horizontal gaze pursuit was studied in squirrel monkeys. When the head was free to move, the monkeys pursued targets with a combination of smooth eye and head movements; with the majority of the gaze velocity produced by smooth tracking head movements. In the accompanying study we reported that the flocculus region was necessary for cancellation of the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) evoked by passive whole body rotation. The question addressed in this study was whether the flocculus region of the cerebellum also plays a role in canceling the VOR produced by active head movements during gaze pursuit. The firing behavior of 121 Purkinje (Pk) cells that were sensitive to horizontal smooth pursuit eye movements was studied. The sample included 66 eye velocity Pk cells and 55 gaze velocity Pk cells. All of the cells remained sensitive to smooth pursuit eye movements during combined eye and head tracking. Eye velocity Pk cells were insensitive to smooth pursuit head movements. Gaze velocity Pk cells were nearly as sensitive to active smooth pursuit head movements as they were passive whole body rotation; but they were less than half as sensitive (≈43%) to smooth pursuit head movements as they were to smooth pursuit eye movements. Considered as a whole, the Pk cells in the flocculus region of the cerebellar cortex were <20% as sensitive to smooth pursuit head movements as they were to smooth pursuit eye movements, which suggests that this region does not produce signals sufficient to cancel the VOR during smooth head tracking. The comparative effect of injections of muscimol into the flocculus region on smooth pursuit eye and head movements was studied in two monkeys. Muscimol inactivation of the flocculus region profoundly affected smooth pursuit eye movements but had little effect on smooth pursuit head movements or on smooth tracking of visual targets when the head was free to move. We conclude that the signals produced by flocculus region Pk cells are neither necessary nor sufficient to cancel the VOR during gaze pursuit.

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