The purpose of this project is to elucidate the mechanisms involved in recovery from vestibular injury (vestibular compensation) in primates. Experiments focus on the physiological processes underlying recovery of the vestibulo-ocular reflex following unilateral labyrinthectomy or plugging of the semicircular canals. The study will consider compensation of vestibular response during both passive and active head movements. For passive head movements, vestibular compensation has been found to be incomplete. The neuronal substrate for compensation of reflexes to both translational and rotational movement will be investigated using extracellular single unit recordings from the rostral bilateral vestibular nuclei both before and after peripheral vestibular lesion. Hypotheses concerning the central mechanisms of compensation of dynamic vestibular reflexes will be directly tested. These hypotheses include a role for plasticity in the vestibular commissural system and that permanent deficits in the otolith-ocular system are a result of permanent reorientation of the linear acceleration sensitivities of central neurons that encode translational and gravity information. For active head movements, preliminary studies have investigated the role played by volition in compensatory ocular responses during head movement by analyzing unrestrained eye and head saccadic movements (head-free gaze shifts) after labyrinthine lesion. These studies suggested that a subject is able to utilize copies of neural signals that encode head movements and/or cervical or visual feedback to facilitate behavioral compensation during natural, unrestrained head movements. This study will also test the hypothesis that copies of neural signals encoding volitional head movements are used during those head movements to modify the response of these central vestibular neurons, facilitating the stabilization of gaze during rotational movements in compensated animals. This research is an outgrowth of the P.l.'s interest in vestibular compensation developed from his previous research experience and from his work as an otolaryngologist treating patients complaining of dizziness. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC006429-04
Application #
7252488
Study Section
Integrative, Functional and Cognitive Neuroscience 8 (IFCN)
Program Officer
Platt, Christopher
Project Start
2004-08-01
Project End
2008-04-30
Budget Start
2007-08-01
Budget End
2008-04-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$181,268
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Medical Br Galveston
Department
Otolaryngology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
800771149
City
Galveston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77555
Newlands, Shawn D; Wei, Min; Morgan, David et al. (2016) Responses of non-eye-movement central vestibular neurons to sinusoidal yaw rotation in compensated macaques after unilateral semicircular canal plugging. J Neurophysiol 116:1871-1884
Newlands, Shawn D; Lin, Nan; Wei, Min (2014) Responses of non-eye movement central vestibular neurons to sinusoidal horizontal translation in compensated macaques after unilateral labyrinthectomy. J Neurophysiol 112:9-21
Shinder, Michael E; Newlands, Shawn D (2014) Sensory convergence in the parieto-insular vestibular cortex. J Neurophysiol 111:2445-64
Newlands, Shawn D; Wei, Min (2013) Responses of central vestibular neurons to sinusoidal yaw rotation in compensated macaques after unilateral labyrinthectomy. J Neurophysiol 110:1822-36
Newlands, Shawn D; Wei, Min (2013) Tests of linearity in the responses of eye-movement-sensitive vestibular neurons to sinusoidal yaw rotation. J Neurophysiol 109:2571-84
Wei, Min; Lin, Nan; Newlands, Shawn D (2011) Does orbital proprioception contribute to gaze stability during translation? Exp Brain Res 215:77-87
Newlands, Shawn D; Lin, Nan; Wei, Min (2009) Response linearity of alert monkey non-eye movement vestibular nucleus neurons during sinusoidal yaw rotation. J Neurophysiol 102:1388-97
Chen, L Longtang (2006) Head movements evoked by electrical stimulation in the frontal eye field of the monkey: evidence for independent eye and head control. J Neurophysiol 95:3528-42
Chen, L Longtang; Walton, Mark M G (2005) Head movement evoked by electrical stimulation in the supplementary eye field of the rhesus monkey. J Neurophysiol 94:4502-19