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At least 145 records · Page 8

Research on habituation to novel visual-vestibular environments with particular reference to space flight

Progress in the development of a cohesive theory of the underlying physiological mechanisms associated with spatial orientation in unusual environments is described. Results can be applied to providing means of preventing and/or minimizing the space motion sickness which has been observed during prolonged space missions. Three major areas were investigated: (1) the interaction of visual and vestibular cues in conflict in the human, (2) the plasticity of the vestibulo-ocular reflex in monkeys, and (3) end organ function in the ray with particular emphasis on the effect of ionic concentration.

Young, L. R.↗

A walking prescription for statically-stable walkers based on walker/terrain interaction

The walker/terrain interaction phenomena for the control of a statically stable walking machine are described. The algorithms, measures, and knowledge of walker/terrain interaction phenomena are then combined to form a prescription for how to walk on general terrain. This prescription consists of two parts: nominal control and reactive control. The function of nominal control is the evaluation and execution of planned motions, based on predicted foot force redistributions, to achieve reliable locomotion. The function of reactive control is the monitoring of walker/terrain interaction in real-time to detect anomalous conditions and then respond with the appropriate reflexive actions. Simulations and experiments have been used to test and verify various aspects of the walking prescription.

Nagy, Peter V.↗

Spatial Transformation of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex during Spaceflight

It was hypothesized that the absence of the gravitational reference cues may be responsible for adaptive changes in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). These changes result in the alteration of the direction of the compensatory slow phase (SP) eye movements in microgravity. In order to test this hypothesis, the direction of the VOR SP relative to head motion was investigated in three astronauts during and after an eight-day orbital flight by passive sinusoidal pitch or yaw angular motion at two frequencies. The results of the inflight and postflight testing are considered. The observed deviation between VOR SP and head motion suggests that spatial transformation in the VOR occurred during adaptation to microgravity. It is considered that, although this spatial transformation might be due to a sensory bias, it may reflect central changes in the reference system used for spatial orientation in microgravity.

Clement, Gilles↗

Straight Ahead in Microgravity

INTRODUCTION The subjective straight-ahead direction is a very basic perceptual reference for spatial orientation and locomotion. The perceived straight-ahead along the horizontal and vertical meridian is largely determined by both otolith and somatosensory inputs which are altered in microgravity. The Straight Ahead in Microgravity (SAM) experiment will be conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) to examine how this spatial processing changes as a function of spaceflight. METHODS Data will be collected before the flight, at one-month intervals during long-duration stay (180 days) on board ISS, and after return to Earth. Control studies will also be performed during parabolic flights. Three different protocols will be used in each test session: (1) Fixation: The subject will be asked to look at actual targets (normal vision) and then to imagine these same targets (occluded vision) in the straight-ahead direction. Targets will be located at near distance (arm s length, ~0.5m), medium distance (~1 m), and far distance (beyond 2 m). This task will be successively performed with subject s body aligned with the spacecraft interior, and with subject s body tilted forward and backward by an operator. (2) Saccades: The subject will be asked to make horizontal and vertical saccades, first relative to the spacecraft interior reference system, and then relative to the subject s head reference system. This task will be successively performed with subject s body aligned with the spacecraft interior, and with subject s body tilted in roll or in pitch by an operator. (3) Linear Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR): The subject will be asked to stare at actual visual targets (normal vision) at various distances (near, medium, far) in the straight-ahead direction. Vision will then be occluded, and the subject will be asked to continue staring at the same imagined targets while he/she is passively translated forward-backward, up-down, or side-to-side. The subject's body motion will be performed by the restrained operator while the subject is free-floating. EXPECTED RESULTS The coupling of downward gaze with vergence eye movements observed on Earth is expected to increase in microgravity. Saccadic eye movements made in darkness along perceived axes are expected to be more closely aligned with the body s longitudinal axis in 0g compared to 1g, as the reference system for spatial orientation moves from an allocentric (gravitational) to an egocentric (idiotropic) vector. Changes in the linear VOR will reflect adaptive changes in otolith-ocular reflex contributions to the perceived straight-ahead. DISCUSSION A change in an individual's egocentric reference might have negative consequences on evaluating the direction of an approaching object or on the accuracy of reaching movements or locomotion. Consequently, investigating how microgravity affects the egocenter is important for understanding the problems associated with long-term effects of microgravity on astronauts' and how they re-adapt to the return of gravitational forces on Earth or other planetary surfaces. This project therefore has theoretical, practical and even clinical implications for the sensorimotor research gap "What are the changes in sensorimotor function over the course of a mission?"

Clement, G.↗

Dynamic modulation of ocular orientation during visually guided saccades and smooth-pursuit eye movements

Rotational disturbances of the head about an off-vertical yaw axis induce a complex vestibuloocular reflex pattern that reflects the brain's estimate of head angular velocity as well as its estimate of instantaneous head orientation (at a reduced scale) in space coordinates. We show that semicircular canal and otolith inputs modulate torsional and, to a certain extent, also vertical ocular orientation of visually guided saccades and smooth-pursuit eye movements in a similar manner as during off-vertical axis rotations in complete darkness. It is suggested that this graviceptive control of eye orientation facilitates rapid visual spatial orientation during motion.

Non-NASA Center↗

Vestibulo-Ocular Responses to Vertical Translation using a Hand-Operated Chair as a Field Measure of Otolith Function

The translational Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (tVOR) is an important otolith-mediated response to stabilize gaze during natural locomotion. One goal of this study was to develop a measure of the tVOR using a simple hand-operated chair that provided passive vertical motion. Binocular eye movements were recorded with a tight-fitting video mask in ten healthy subjects. Vertical motion was provided by a modified spring-powered chair (swopper.com) at approximately 2 Hz (+/- 2 cm displacement) to approximate the head motion during walking. Linear acceleration was measured with wireless inertial sensors (Xsens) mounted on the head and torso. Eye movements were recorded while subjects viewed near (0.5m) and far (approximately 4m) targets, and then imagined these targets in darkness. Subjects also provided perceptual estimates of target distances. Consistent with the kinematic properties shown in previous studies, the tVOR gain was greater with near targets, and greater with vision than in darkness. We conclude that this portable chair system can provide a field measure of otolith-ocular function at frequencies sufficient to elicit a robust tVOR.

Wood, S. J.↗

Influence of Vibrotactile Feedback on Controlling Tilt Motion After Spaceflight

We hypothesize that adaptive changes in how inertial cues from the vestibular system are integrated with other sensory information leads to perceptual disturbances and impaired manual control following transitions between gravity environments. The primary goals of this ongoing post-flight investigation are to quantify decrements in manual control of tilt motion following short-duration spaceflight and to evaluate vibrotactile feedback of tilt as a sensorimotor countermeasure. METHODS. Data is currently being collected on 9 astronaut subjects during 3 preflight sessions and during the first 8 days after Shuttle landings. Variable radius centrifugation (216 deg/s, <20 cm radius) in a darkened room is utilized to elicit otolith reflexes in the lateral plane without concordant canal or visual cues. A Tilt-Translation Sled (TTS) is capable of synchronizing pitch tilt with fore-aft translation to align the resultant gravitoinertial vector with the longitudinal body axis, thereby eliciting canal reflexes without concordant otolith or visual cues. A simple 4 tactor system was implemented to provide feedback when tilt position exceeded predetermined levels in either device. Closed-loop nulling tasks are performed during random tilt steps or sum-of-sines (TTS only) with and without vibrotactile feedback of chair position. RESULTS. On landing day the manual control performance without vibrotactile feedback was reduced by >30% based on the gain or the amount of tilt disturbance successfully nulled. Manual control performance tended to return to baseline levels within 1-2 days following landing. Root-mean-square position error and tilt velocity were significantly reduced with vibrotactile feedback. CONCLUSIONS. These preliminary results are consistent with our hypothesis that adaptive changes in vestibular processing corresponds to reduced manual control performance following G-transitions. A simple vibrotactile prosthesis improves the ability to null out tilt motion within a limited range of motion disturbances.

Wood, S. J.↗

Improving Sensorimotor Function and Adaptation using Stochastic Vestibular Stimulation

Astronauts experience sensorimotor changes during adaption to G-transitions that occur when entering and exiting microgravity. Post space flight, these sensorimotor disturbances can include postural and gait instability, visual performance changes, manual control disruptions, spatial disorientation, and motion sickness, all of which can hinder the operational capabilities of the astronauts. Crewmember safety would be significantly increased if sensorimotor changes brought on by gravitational changes could be mitigated and adaptation could be facilitated. The goal of this research is to investigate and develop the use of electrical stochastic vestibular stimulation (SVS) as a countermeasure to augment sensorimotor function and facilitate adaptation. For this project, SVS will be applied via electrodes on the mastoid processes at imperceptible amplitude levels. We hypothesize that SVS will improve sensorimotor performance through the phenomena of stochastic resonance, which occurs when the response of a nonlinear system to a weak input signal is optimized by the application of a particular nonzero level of noise. In line with the theory of stochastic resonance, a specific optimal level of SVS will be found and tested for each subject [1]. Three experiments are planned to investigate the use of SVS in sensory-dependent tasks and performance. The first experiment will aim to demonstrate stochastic resonance in the vestibular system through perception based motion recognition thresholds obtained using a 6-degree of freedom Stewart platform in the Jenks Vestibular Laboratory at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. A range of SVS amplitudes will be applied to each subject and the subjectspecific optimal SVS level will be identified as that which results in the lowest motion recognition threshold, through previously established, well developed methods [2,3,4]. The second experiment will investigate the use of optimal SVS in facilitating sensorimotor adaptation to system disturbances. Subjects will adapt to wearing minifying glasses, resulting in decreased vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) gain. The VOR gain will then be intermittently measured while the subject readapts to normal vision, with and without optimal SVS. We expect that optimal SVS will cause a steepening of the adaptation curve. The third experiment will test the use of optimal SVS in an operationally relevant aerospace task, using the tilt translation sled at NASA Johnson Space Center, a test platform capable of recreating the tilt-gain and tilt-translation illusions associated with landing of a spacecraft post-space flight. In this experiment, a perception based manual control measure will be used to compare performance with and without optimal SVS. We expect performance to improve in this task when optimal SVS is applied. The ultimate goal of this work is to systematically investigate and further understand the potential benefits of stochastic vestibular stimulation in the context of human space flight so that it may be used in the future as a component of a comprehensive countermeasure plan for adaptation to G-transitions.

Galvan, R. C.↗

Studies of the vestibulo-ocular reflex on STS 4, 5 and 6

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) may be altered by weightlessness. Since this reflex plays a large role in visual stabilization, it was important to document any changes caused by space flight. This is a report on findings on STS-4 through 6 and is part of a larger study of neurosensory adaptation done on STS-4 through 8. Voluntary horizontal head oscillations at 1/3 Hz with amplitude of 30 deg right and left of center were recorded by a potentiometer and compared to eye position recorded by electroculography under the following conditions: eyes open, head fixed, tracking horizontal targets switched 0, 15, and 30 degrees right and left (optokinetic reflex - OKR - and calibration); eyes open and fixed on static external target with oscillation, (vestibulo ocular reflex, eyes closed - VOR EC); eyes open and wearing opaque goggles with target fixed in imagination (vestibulo-ocular reflex, eyes shaded - VOR ES); and eyes open and fixed on a head synchronized target with head oscillation (VOR suppression). No significant changes were found in voluntary head oscillation frequency or amplitude in those with (n=5), and without (n=3), space motion sickness (SMS), with phase of flight or test condition. Variations in head oscillation were too small to have produced detectable changes in test results.

Thornton, William E.↗

Inertial processing of vestibulo-ocular signals

New evidence for a central resolution of gravito-inertial signals has been recently obtained by analyzing the properties of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in response to combined lateral translations and roll tilts of the head. It is found that the VOR generates robust compensatory horizontal eye movements independent of whether or not the interaural translatory acceleration component is canceled out by a gravitational acceleration component due to simultaneous roll-tilt. This response property of the VOR depends on functional semicircular canals, suggesting that the brain uses both otolith and semicircular canal signals to estimate head motion relative to inertial space. Vestibular information about dynamic head attitude relative to gravity is the basis for computing head (and body) angular velocity relative to inertial space. Available evidence suggests that the inertial vestibular system controls both head attitude and velocity with respect to a gravity-centered reference frame. The basic computational principles underlying the inertial processing of otolith and semicircular canal afferent signals are outlined.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗

Vergence-dependent adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex

The gain of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) normally depends on the distance between the subject and the visual target, but it remains uncertain whether vergence angle can be linked to changes in VOR gain through a process of context-dependent adaptation. In this study, we examined this question with an adaptation paradigm that modified the normal relationship between vergence angle and retinal image motion. Subjects were rotated sinusoidally while they viewed an optokinetic (OKN) stimulus through either diverging or converging prisms. In three subjects the diverging prisms were worn while the OKN stimulus moved out of phase with the head, and the converging prisms were worn when the OKN stimulus moved in-phase with the head. The relationship between the vergence angle and OKN stimulus was reversed in the fourth subject. After 2 h of training, the VOR gain at the two vergence angles changed significantly in all of the subjects, evidenced by the two different VOR gains that could be immediately accessed by switching between the diverged and converged conditions. The results demonstrate that subjects can learn to use vergence angle as the contextual cue that retrieves adaptive changes in the angular VOR.

NASA Discipline Developmental Biology↗

Yaw and pitch visual-vestibular interaction in weightlessness

Both yaw and pitch visual-vestibular interactions at two separate frequencies of chair rotation (0.2 and 0.8 Hz) in combination with a single velocity of optokinetic stimulus (36 degrees/s) were used to investigate the effects of sustained weightlessness on neural strategies adopted by astronaut subjects to cope with the stimulus rearrangement of spaceflight. Pitch and yaw oscillation in darkness at 0.2 and 0.8 Hz without optokinetic stimulation, and constant velocity linear optokinetic stimulation at 18, 36, and 54 degrees/s presented relative to the head with the subject stationary, were used as controls for the visual-vestibular interactions. The results following 8 days of space flight showed no significant changes in: (1) either the horizontal and vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain, phase, or bias; (2) the yaw visual-vestibular response (VVR); or (3) the horizontal or vertical optokinetic (OKN) slow phase velocity (SPV). However, significant changes were observed: (1) when during pitch VVR at 0.2 Hz late inflight, the contribution of the optokinetic input to the combined oculomotor response was smaller than during the stationary OKN SPV measurements, followed by an increased contribution during the immediate postflight testing; and (2) when during pitch VVR at 0.8 Hz, the component of the combined oculomotor response due to the underlying vertical VOR was more efficiently suppressed early inflight and less suppressed immediately postflight compared with preflight observations. The larger OKN response during pitch VVR at 0.2 Hz and the better suppression of VOR during pitch VVR at 0.8 Hz postflight are presumably due to the increased role of vision early inflight and immediately after spaceflight, as previously observed in various studies. These results suggest that the subjects adopted a neural strategy to structure their spatial orientation in weightlessness by reweighting visual, otolith, and perhaps tactile/somatic signals.

NASA Center JSC↗

Cross-axis adaptation of torsional components in the yaw-axis vestibulo-ocular reflex

The three pairs of semicircular canals within the labyrinth are not perfectly aligned with the pulling directions of the six extraocular muscles. Therefore, for a given head movement, the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) depends upon central neural mechanisms that couple the canals to the muscles with the appropriate functional gains in order to generate a response that rotates the eye the correct amount and around the correct axis. A consequence of these neural connections is a cross-axis adaptive capability, which can be stimulated experimentally when head rotation is around one axis and visual motion about another. From this visual-vestibular conflict the brain infers that the slow-phase eye movement is rotating around the wrong axis. We explored the capability of human cross-axis adaptation, using a short-term training paradigm, to determine if torsional eye movements could be elicited by yaw (horizontal) head rotation (where torsion is normally inappropriate). We applied yaw sinusoidal head rotation (+/-10 degrees, 0.33 Hz) and measured eye movement responses in the dark, and before and after adaptation. The adaptation paradigm lasted 45-60 min, and consisted of the identical head motion, coupled with a moving visual scene that required one of several types of eye movements: (1) torsion alone (-Roll); (2) horizontal/torsional, head right/CW torsion (Yaw-Roll); (3) horizontal/torsional, head right/CCW torsion (Yaw+Roll); (4) horizontal, vertical, torsional combined (Yaw+Pitch-Roll); and (5) horizontal and vertical together (Yaw+Pitch). The largest and most significant changes in torsional amplitude occurred in the Yaw-Roll and Yaw+Roll conditions. We conclude that short-term, cross-axis adaptation of torsion is possible but constrained by the complexity of the adaptation task: smaller torsional components are produced if more than one cross-coupling component is required. In contrast, vertical cross-axis components can be easily trained to occur with yaw head movements.

Non-NASA Center↗

The effect of space flight on spatial orientation

Both during and following early space missions, little neurosensory change in the astronauts was noted as a result of their exposure to microgravity. It is believed that this lack of in-flight adaptation in the spatial orientation and perceptual-motor system resulted from short exposure times and limited interaction with the new environment. Parker and Parker (1990) have suggested that while spatial orientation and motion information can be detected by a passive observer, adaptation to stimulus rearrangement is greatly enhanced when the observer moves through or acts on the environment. Experience with the actual consequences of action can be compared with those consequences expected on the basis of prior experience. Space flight today is of longer duration, and space craft volume has increased. These changes have forced the astronauts to interact with the new environment of microgravity, and as a result substantial changes occur in the perceptual and sensory-motor repsonses reflecting adaptation to the stimulus rearrangement of space flight. We are currently evaluating spatial orientation and the perceptual-motor systems' adaptation to microgravity by examining responses of postural control, head and gaze stability during locomotion, goal oriented vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), and structured quantitative perceptual reports. Evidence suggests that humans can successfully replace the gravitational reference available on Earth with cues available within the spacecraft or within themselves, but that adaptation to microgravity is not appropriate for a return to Earth. Countermeasures for optimal performance on-orbit and a successful return to earth will require development of preflight and in-flight training to help the astronauts acquire and maintain a dual adaptive state. An understanding of spatial orientation and motion perception, postural control, locomotion, and the VOR will aid in this process.

Reschke, Millard F.↗

Otolith-Canal Convergence In Vestibular Nuclei Neurons

The current final report covers the period from June 1, 1999 to May 31, 2002. The primary objective of the investigation was to determine how information regarding head movements and head position relative to gravity is received and processed by central vestibular nuclei neurons in the brainstem. Specialized receptors in the vestibular labyrinths of the inner ear function to detect angular and linear accelerations of the head, with receptors located in the semicircular canals transducing rotational head movements and receptors located in the otolith organs transducing changes in head position relative to gravity or linear accelerations of the head. The information from these different receptors is then transmitted to central vestibular nuclei neurons which process the input signals, then project the appropriate output information to the eye, head, and body musculature motor neurons to control compensatory reflexes. Although a number of studies have reported on the responsiveness of vestibular nuclei neurons, it has not yet been possible to determine precisely how these cells combine the information from the different angular and linear acceleration receptors into a correct neural output signal. In the present project, rotational and linear motion stimuli were separately delivered while recording responses from vestibular nuclei neurons that were characterized according to direct input from the labyrinth and eye movement sensitivity. Responses from neurons receiving convergent input from the semicircular canals and otolith organs were quantified and compared to non-convergent neurons.

Dickman, J. David↗

Droplet Combustion Experiment

Liquid fuel combustion provides a major portion of the world's energy supply. In most practical combustion devices, liquid burns after being separated into a droplet spray. Essential to the design of efficient combustion systems is a knowledge of droplet combustion behavior. The microgravity environment aboard spacecraft provides an opportunity to investigate the complex interactions between the physical and chemical combustion processes involved in droplet combustion without the complications of natural buoyancy. Launched on STS-83 and STS-94 (April 4 and July 1, 1997), the Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) investigated the fundamentals of droplet combustion under a range of pressures (0.25 to 1 atm), oxygen mole fractions (<0.5), and droplet sizes (1.5 to 5 mm). Principal DCE flight hardware features were a chamber to supply selected test environments, the use of crew-inserted bottles, and a vent system to remove unwanted gaseous combustion products. The internal apparatus contained the droplet deployment and ignition mechanisms to burn single, freely deployed droplets in microgravity. Diagnostics systems included a 35-mm high-speed motion picture camera (see the following sequence of photos) with a backlight to photograph burning droplets and a camcorder to monitor experiment operations. Additional diagnostics included an ultraviolet-light-sensitive CCD (charge couple discharge) camera to obtain flame radiation from hydroxyl radicals (see the final figure) and a 35-mm SLR (single-lens-reflex) camera to obtain color still photographs of the flames.

Nayagam, Vedha↗

Effects of body orientation and rotation axis on pitch visual-vestibular interaction

Spatial transformations of the vestibular-optokinetic system must account for changes in head position with respect to gravity in order to produce compensatory oculomotor responses. The purpose of this experiment was to study the influence of gravity on the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in darkness and on visual-vestibular interaction in the pitch plane in human subjects using two different comparisons: (1) Earth-horizontal axis (EHA) rotation about an upright versus a supine body orientation, and (2) Earth-horizontal versus Earth-vertical (EVA) rotation axes. Visual-vestibular responses (VVR) were evaluated by measuring the slow phase velocity of nystagmus induced during sinusoidal motion of the body in the pitch plane (at 0.2 Hz and 0.8 Hz) combined with a constant-velocity vertical optokinetic stimulation (at +/- 36 degrees/s). The results showed no significant effect on the gain or phase of the VOR in darkness or on the VVR responses at 0.8 Hz between EHA upright and EHA supine body orientations. However, there was a downward shift in the VOR bias in darkness in the supine orientation. There were systematic changes in VOR and VVR between EHA and EVA for 0.2 Hz, including a reduced modulation gain, increased phase lead, and decreased bias during EVA rotation. The same trend was also observed at 0.8 Hz, but at a lesser extent, presumably due to the effects of eccentric rotation in our EVA condition and/or to the different canal input across frequencies. The change in the bias at 0.2 Hz between rotation in darkness and rotation with an optokinetic stimulus was greater than the optokinetic responses without rotation. During EHA, changes in head position relative to gravity preserve graviceptor input to the VVR regardless of body orientation. However, the modifications in VVR gain and phase when the rotation axis is aligned with gravity indicate that this graviceptive information is important for providing compensatory eye movements during visual-vestibular interaction in the pitch plane.

Non-NASA Center↗

Plasticity of the human otolith-ocular reflex

The eye movement response to earth vertical axis rotation in the dark, a semicircular canal stimulus, can be altered by prior exposure to combined visual-vestibular stimuli. Such plasticity of the vestibulo-ocular reflex has not been described for earth horizontal axis rotation, a dynamic otolith stimulus. Twenty normal human subjects underwent one of two types of adaptation paradigms designed either to attenuate or enhance the gain of the semicircular canal-ocular reflex prior to undergoing otolith-ocular reflex testing with horizontal axis rotation. The adaptation paradigm paired a 0.2 Hz sinusoidal rotation about a vertical axis with a 0.2 Hz optokinetic stripe pattern that was deliberately mismatched in peak velocity. Pre- and post-adaptation horizontal axis rotations were at 60 degrees/s in the dark and produced a modulation in the slow component velocity of nystagmus having a frequency of 0.17 Hz due to putative stimulation of the otolith organs. Results showed that the magnitude of this modulation component response was altered in a manner similar to the alteration in semicircular canal-ocular responses. These results suggest that physiologic alteration of the vestibulo-ocular reflex using deliberately mismatched visual and semicircular canal stimuli induces changes in both canal-ocular and otolith-ocular responses. We postulate, therefore, that central nervous system pathways responsible for controlling the gains of canal-ocular and otolith-ocular reflexes are shared.

Non-NASA Center↗