title: Vertical torque responses to vestibular stimulation in standing humans.
abstract: The effects of electrical vestibular stimulation upon movement and perception suggest two evoked sensations: head roll and inter-aural linear acceleration. The head roll vector causes walking subjects to turn in a direction dependent on head pitch, requiring generation of torque around a vertical axis. Here the effect of vestibular stimulation upon vertical torque (T(z)) was investigated during quiet stance. With the head tilted forward, square-wave stimuli applied to the mastoid processes evoked a polarity-specific T(z) response accompanied by trunk yaw. Stochastic vestibular stimulation (SVS) was used to investigate the effect of head pitch with greater precision; the SVS–T(z) cross-correlation displayed a modulation pattern consistent with the head roll vector and this was also reflected by changes in coherence at 2–3 Hz. However, a separate response at 7–8 Hz was unaffected by head pitch. Head translation (rather than rotation) had no effect upon this high frequency response either, suggesting it is not caused by a sense of body rotation induced by an inter-aural acceleration vector offset from the body. Instead, high coherence between medio-lateral shear force and T(z) at the same frequency range suggests it is caused by mechanical coupling to evoked medio-lateral sway. Consistent with this explanation, the 7–8 Hz response was attenuated by 90 deg head roll or yaw, both of which uncouple the inter-aural axis from the medio-lateral sway axis. These results demonstrate two vertical torque responses to electrical vestibular stimulation in standing subjects. The high frequency response can be attributed to mechanical coupling to evoked medio-lateral sway. The low frequency response is consistent with a reaction to a sensation of head roll, and provides a novel method for investigating proprioceptive-vestibular interactions during stance.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston B15 2TT, UK. r.f.reynolds@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Raymond F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Reynolds
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D019416:Head Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008416:Mastoid / Q000502:physiology; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology; D011897:Random Allocation; D019415:Torque; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult