title: Verticality perception during and after galvanic vestibular stimulation.
abstract: The human brain constructs verticality perception by integrating vestibular, somatosensory, and visual information. Here we investigated whether galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) has an effect on verticality perception both during and after application, by assessing the subjective verticals (visual, haptic and postural) in healthy subjects at those times. During stimulation the subjective visual vertical and the subjective haptic vertical shifted towards the anode, whereas this shift was reversed towards the cathode in all modalities once stimulation was turned off. Overall, the effects were strongest for the haptic modality. Additional investigation of the time course of GVS-induced changes in the haptic vertical revealed that anodal shifts persisted for the entire 20-min stimulation interval in the majority of subjects. Aftereffects exhibited different types of decay, with a preponderance for an exponential decay. The existence of such reverse effects after stimulation could have implications for GVS-based therapy.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; Schoen Klinik Bad Aibling, Kolbermoorerstr. 72, 83043 Bad Aibling, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: volkening.kathi@googlemail.com.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Volkening
authors.affiliation: Schoen Klinik Bad Aibling, Kolbermoorerstr. 72, 83043 Bad Aibling, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: JBergmann@schoen-kliniken.de.
authors.forename: Jeannine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.affiliation: Schoen Klinik Bad Aibling, Kolbermoorerstr. 72, 83043 Bad Aibling, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: IKeller@schoen-kliniken.de.
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.affiliation: German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wuehr
authors.affiliation: Schoen Klinik Bad Aibling, Kolbermoorerstr. 72, 83043 Bad Aibling, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: FMueller@schoen-kliniken.de.
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: klaus.jahn@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jahn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010037:Otolithic Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000502:physiology; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Galvanic vestibular stimulation; Subjective vertical; Verticality perception