title: The velocity response of vestibular nucleus neurons during vestibular, visual, and combined angular acceleration.
abstract: In alert Rhesus monkeys neuronal activity in the vestibular nuclei was measured during horizontal angular acceleration in darkness, acceleration of an optokinetic stimulus, and combined visual-vestibular stimulation. The working ranges for visual input velocity and acceleration extend up to 60 degrees/s and 5 degrees/s2. The corresponding working range for vestibular input acceleration is wider and time-dependent. During combined stimulation, that is acceleration of the monkey in the light, a linear relation between neuronal activity and velocity could be established for all neurons. Type I vestibular plus eye movement neurons displayed the greatest sensitivity and had a small linear range of operation. Other vestibular neurons were less sensitive but had a larger range of linear response to different values of acceleration. Accelerating the animal and visual surround, simultaneously but in opposite directions, results in neuronal activity proportional to relative velocity over a limited range.
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000818:Animals; D005133:Eye Movements; D000882:Haplorhini; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000294:innervation; D014726:Vestibular Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*