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The Cerebellum
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Open Access 01-04-2023 | Nystagmus | Original Article

In Vivo Localization of the Human Velocity Storage Mechanism and Its Core Cerebellar Networks by Means of Galvanic-Vestibular Afternystagmus and fMRI

Authors: Maxine Rühl, Rebecca Kimmel, Matthias Ertl, Julian Conrad, Peter zu Eulenburg

Published in: The Cerebellum | Issue 2/2023

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Abstract

Humans are able to estimate head movements accurately despite the short half-life of information coming from our inner ear motion sensors. The observation that the central angular velocity estimate outlives the decaying signal of the semicircular canal afferents led to the concept of a velocity storage mechanism (VSM). The VSM can be activated via visual and vestibular modalities and becomes manifest in ocular motor responses after sustained stimulation like whole-body rotations, optokinetic or galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS). The VSM has been the focus of many computational modelling approaches; little attention though has been paid to discover its actual structural correlates. Animal studies localized the VSM in the medial and superior vestibular nuclei. A significant modulation by cerebellar circuitries including the uvula and nodulus has been proposed. Nevertheless, the corresponding neuroanatomical structures in humans have not been identified so far. The aim of the present study was to delineate the neural substrates of the VSM using high-resolution infratentorial fMRI with a fast T2* sequence optimized for infratentorial neuroimaging and via video-oculography (VOG). The neuroimaging experiment (n=20) gave first in vivo evidence for an involvement of the vestibular nuclei in the VSM and substantiate a crucial role for cerebellar circuitries. Our results emphasize the importance of cerebellar feedback loops in VSM most likely represented by signal increases in vestibulo-cerebellar hubs like the uvula and nodulus and lobule VIIIA. The delineated activation maps give new insights regarding the function and embedment of Crus I, Crus II, and lobule VII and VIII in the human vestibular system.
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Metadata
Title
In Vivo Localization of the Human Velocity Storage Mechanism and Its Core Cerebellar Networks by Means of Galvanic-Vestibular Afternystagmus and fMRI
Authors
Maxine Rühl
Rebecca Kimmel
Matthias Ertl
Julian Conrad
Peter zu Eulenburg
Publication date
01-04-2023
Publisher
Springer US
Keyword
Nystagmus
Published in
The Cerebellum / Issue 2/2023
Print ISSN: 1473-4222
Electronic ISSN: 1473-4230
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-022-01374-8

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