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Vestibular contributions to linear motion perception

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Abstract

Vestibular contributions to linear motion (i.e., translation) perception mediated by the otoliths have yet to be fully characterized. To quantify the maximal extent that non-vestibular cues can contribute to translation perception, we assessed vestibular perceptual thresholds in two patients with complete bilateral vestibular ablation to compare to our data in 12 young (< 40 years), healthy controls. Vestibular thresholds were assessed for naso-occipital (“x-translation”), inter-aural (“y-translation”), and superior-inferior (“z-translation”) translations in three body orientations (upright, supine, side-lying). Overall, in our patients with bilateral complete vestibular loss, thresholds were elevated ~ 2–45 times relative to healthy controls. No systematic differences in vestibular perceptual thresholds were noted between motions that differed only with respect to their orientation relative to the head (i.e., otoliths) in patients with bilateral vestibular loss. In addition, bilateral loss patients tended to show a larger impairment in the perception of earth-vertical translations (i.e., motion parallel to gravity) relative to earth-horizontal translations, which suggests increased contribution of the vestibular system for earth-vertical motions. However, differences were also noted between the two patients. Finally, with the exception of side-lying x-translations, no consistent effects of body orientation in our bilateral loss patients were seen independent from those resulting from changes in the plane of translation relative to gravity. Overall, our data confirm predominant vestibular contributions to whole-body direction-recognition translation tasks and provide fundamental insights into vestibular contributions to translation motion perception.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our bilateral loss participants for their time, effort, and willingness to travel to participate in our research. We also thank Bob Grimes and Michael Hall for their technical assistance and Philippe deNeere for artistic assistance.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grants (R01DC014924) and the National Institute on Aging (R01AG073113). Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Award Number W81XWH192000. MK was supported in part by a The Ohio State University Graduate School’s Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship (AGGRS) Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 915 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH, 43204, USA

    Megan J. Kobel, Andrew R. Wagner & Daniel M. Merfeld

  2. Speech and Hearing Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA

    Daniel M. Merfeld

  3. Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA

    Daniel M. Merfeld

  4. Biomedical Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA

    Daniel M. Merfeld

Authors
  1. Megan J. Kobel
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  2. Andrew R. Wagner
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  3. Daniel M. Merfeld
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection was performed by MJK and ARW. Data analysis and the first draft of the manuscript was written by MJK. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Megan J. Kobel.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Ethical approval

All study procedures were approved by the Ohio State University Institutional Review Board.

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Communicated by Bill J Yates.

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Kobel, M.J., Wagner, A.R. & Merfeld, D.M. Vestibular contributions to linear motion perception. Exp Brain Res 242, 385–402 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06754-y

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