Effects of vestibular-somatosensory integration on postural control

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26540072
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cognitive science
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Teruo Hashimoto 東北大学, 加齢医学研究所, 助教 (40553756)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): TAOKA MIKI 理化学研究所, 脳科学総合研究センター, 研究員 (80236174) ; OBAYASHI SHIGERU 日本医科大学, 千葉北総病院, 助教 (90318246)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 前庭感覚 / 体性感覚 / 姿勢制御 / 島皮質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study　examined the effects of somatosensory inputs on body sway induced by galvanic vestibular　stimulation (GVS) in healthy participants and persons with brain injury in the posterior insula, a　region constituting a part of the parietoinsular vestibular cortex.
In healthy participants, tilting was greater with right hemispheric
stimulation than with left hemispheric stimulation. Moreover, with right hemispheric stimulation, tilting was greater with a right finger touch than with no touch. The person with right-brain injury showed tilting induced by GVS; however, finger touch had no modulatory effect. In contrast, finger touch enhanced tilting in the person with left-brain injury. These preliminary results are discussed in light of a hypothesis of right hemispheric dominance of somatosensory-vestibular interactions in the posterior insula.

Free Research Field

認知神経科学