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Background/Hypothesis: Motion sensitivity symptoms, such as dizziness or unsteadiness, are frequently reported as non-headache symptoms of migraine. Postural imbalance has been observed in subjects with vestibular migraine, chronic migraine, and aura. We aimed to assess the ability of largest Lyapunov's exponent for a short time series (sLLE), which reflects the ability to cope with internal perturbations during gait, to detect differences in local dynamic stability between individuals with migraine without aura (MO) with an episodic pattern between attacks and healthy subjects (HS). Methods: Trunk accelerations of 47 MO and 38 HS were recorded during gait using an inertial measurement unit. The discriminative ability of sLLE was assessed through receiver-operating characteristics curves and cutoff analysis. Partial correlation analysis was conducted between the clinical and gait variables, excluding the effects of gait speed. Results: MO showed higher sLLE values, and reduced pelvic rotation, pelvic tilt, and stride length values. sLLEML and pelvic rotation showed good ability to discriminate between MO and HS and were correlated with the perceived pain, migraine disability assessment score, and each other. Conclusions: these findings may provide new insights into the postural balance control mechanism in subjects with MO and introduce the sLLEML as a potential measure of dynamic instability in MO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vestibular Migraine (VM) is a prevalent vestibular disorder, affecting up to 2.7% of the general population. Despite the establishment of diagnostic criteria by the Bárány Society and its inclusion in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, the clinical diagnosis of VM remains challenging due to its complex pathophysiology and symptom overlap with other dizziness disorders. Motion sickness is a core feature of migraine and can be interrogated through simple questionnaires. Objective: This study aims to identify to what extent motion sensitivity can predict VM compared to other causes of dizziness. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 113 patients from the vestibular neurology clinics at University College London Hospitals. Participants were categorized into VM, Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD), combined VM and PPPD, and 'other' dizziness etiologies. Data on motion sickness history and dizziness during car travel were collected through structured interviews and analyzed using logistic regression to assess the predictive value of these symptoms for VM. Results: A substantial portion of patients with VM (91.2%) reported nausea or dizziness when reading as a passenger, a symptom significantly more prevalent than in those with PPPD or other dizziness diagnoses. Logistic regression indicated that VM patients are significantly more likely to experience these symptoms compared to non-VM patients, with an odds ratio suggesting a strong predictive value for this symptom in diagnosing VM. Conclusion: The findings highlight increased motion sensitivity while reading in a moving vehicle as a promising diagnostic tool for VM, offering a practical aid in clinical settings to distinguish VM from other vestibular disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundVestibular Migraine (VM) is a prevalent vestibular disorder, affecting up to 2.7% of the general population. Despite the establishment of diagnostic criteria by the Bárány Society and its inclusion in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, the clinical diagnosis of VM remains challenging due to its complex pathophysiology and symptom overlap with other dizziness disorders. Motion sickness is a core feature of migraine and can be interrogated through simple questionnaires.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify to what extent motion sensitivity can predict VM compared to other causes of dizziness.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study involving 113 patients from the vestibular neurology clinics at University College London Hospitals. Participants were categorized into VM, Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD), combined VM and PPPD, and ‘other’ dizziness etiologies. Data on motion sickness history and dizziness during car travel were collected through structured interviews and analyzed using logistic regression to assess the predictive value of these symptoms for VM.ResultsA substantial portion of patients with VM (91.2%) reported nausea or dizziness when reading as a passenger, a symptom significantly more prevalent than in those with PPPD or other dizziness diagnoses. Logistic regression indicated that VM patients are significantly more likely to experience these symptoms compared to non-VM patients, with an odds ratio suggesting a strong predictive value for this symptom in diagnosing VM.ConclusionThe findings highlight increased motion sensitivity while reading in a moving vehicle as a promising diagnostic tool for VM, offering a practical aid in clinical settings to distinguish VM from other vestibular disorders.

Vestibular Migraine (VM) is the most common cause of non-positional episodic vestibular symptoms. Patients with VM commonly report increased motion sensitivity, suggesting that vestibular responses to head movement may identify changes specific to VM patients. Here we explore whether the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain alters in response to a clinical "headshake" maneuver in patients with VM. Thirty patients with VM in the inter-ictal phase, 16 patients with Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo (BPPV) and 15 healthy controls were recruited. Patients responded to the question "Do you feel sick reading in the passenger seat of a car?" and completed a validated motion sickness questionnaire as a measure of motion sensitivity. Lateral canal vHIT testing was performed before and after headshaking; the change in VOR gain was calculated as the primary outcome. Baseline VOR gain was within normal limits across all participants. There was no significant change in VOR gain after headshaking in any group (p = 0.264). Patients were 4.3 timesmore likely to be in the VM group than in the BPPV group if they reported nausea when reading in the passenger seat of a car. We postulate that a headshake stimulus may be insufficient to disrupt cortical interactions and induce a change in VOR gain. Alternatively, changes in VOR gain may only be apparent in the acute phase of VM. Reading in the passenger seat of a car was considered uncomfortable in all VM patients suggesting that this specific question may be useful for the diagnosis of VM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is the most common functional vestibular disorder. A multisensory mismatch altered by psychological influences is considered to be an important pathophysiological mechanism. Increased cortical and subcortical excitability may play a role in the pathophysiology of PPPD. We hypothesized that decreased motion perception thresholds reflect one mechanism of the abnormal vestibular responsiveness in this disorder. We investigated the vestibular perception thresholds and the vestibular ocular reflex with a rotatory chair experiment to gain insights in the processing and adaption to vestibular provocation. Methods In this cross-sectional study 26 female PPPD patients and 33 healthy female age matched controls (HC) were investigated sitting in a motorized rotary chair shielded regarding visual and acoustic stimuli. The chair was rotated for 20 minutes with slowly increasing velocity to a maximum of 72°/s. We functionally tested motion perception thresholds and vegetative responses to rotation as well as vestibular-ocular reflex thresholds. We additionally investigated several psychological comorbidities (i.e. depression, anxiety, somatosensory amplification) using validated scores. Conventional dizziness scores were obtained to quantify the experienced dizziness and impact on daily life. Results PPPD patients showed a significant reduced vestibulo-perceptual threshold (PPPD: 10.9°/s vs. HC: 29.5°/s; p

Vestibular Migraine (VM) is the most common cause of non-positional episodic vestibular symptoms. Patients with VM commonly report increased motion sensitivity, suggesting that vestibular responses to head movement may identify changes specific to VM patients. Here we explore whether the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain alters in response to a clinical “headshake” maneuver in patients with VM. Thirty patients with VM in the inter-ictal phase, 16 patients with Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo (BPPV) and 15 healthy controls were recruited. Patients responded to the question “Do you feel sick reading in the passenger seat of a car?” and completed a validated motion sickness questionnaire as a measure of motion sensitivity. Lateral canal vHIT testing was performed before and after headshaking; the change in VOR gain was calculated as the primary outcome. Baseline VOR gain was within normal limits across all participants. There was no significant change in VOR gain after headshaking in any group (p = 0.264). Patients were 4.3 times more likely to be in the VM group than in the BPPV group if they reported nausea when reading in the passenger seat of a car. We postulate that a headshake stimulus may be insufficient to disrupt cortical interactions and induce a change in VOR gain. Alternatively, changes in VOR gain may only be apparent in the acute phase of VM. Reading in the passenger seat of a car was considered uncomfortable in all VM patients suggesting that this specific question may be useful for the diagnosis of VM.

• many neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus are sensitive to sweeps of interaural time difference in tones or broadband noise. • response to such sweeps can match the response to static stimuli but can also drastically differ. • the difference in response to dynamic versus static stimuli predominantly reflects a neuron's temporal response pattern. • a roughly equal number of neurons showed build-up and adapting patterns. Many neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (IC) show sensitivity to interaural time differences (ITDs), which is thought to be relayed from the brainstem. However, studies with interaural phase modulation of pure tones showed that IC neurons have a sensitivity to changes in ITD that is not present at the level of the brainstem. This sensitivity has been interpreted as a form of sensitivity to motion. A new type of stimulus is used here to study the sensitivity of IC neurons to dynamic changes in ITD, in which broad- or narrowband stimuli are swept through a range of ITDs with arbitrary start-ITD, end-ITD, speed, and direction. Extracellular recordings were obtained under barbiturate anesthesia in the cat. We applied the same analyses as previously introduced for the study of responses to tones. We find effects of motion which are similar to those described in response to interaural phase modulation of tones. The size of the effects strongly depended on the motion parameters but was overall smaller than reported for tones. We found that the effects of motion could largely be explained by the temporal response pattern of the neuron such as adaptation and build-up. Our data add to previous evidence questioning true coding of motion at the level of the IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Motion sensitivity, or motion sickness, is common in modern vehicular and visually stimulating environments. Several studies have shown a relationship between motion sensitivity and decreased postural stability. We aimed to evaluate the effects of head motion (horizontal and vertical) on postural stability in healthy adults with and without chronic motion sensitivity (CMS). Methods Sixty healthy adult men and women (age, 20–40 years) with CMS (CMS group, n = 30) and without CMS (non-CMS group, n = 30) participated in the study. Postural stability was assessed during three conditions (static, horizontal head motion, and vertical head motion) using computerized dynamic posturography. Group and condition-related differences in equilibrium scores were evaluated. Results There was no significant group x condition interaction (F2,114 = 0.9, partial ƞ2 = 0.04, p = 0.35). However, significant condition-related differences in equilibrium scores were observed (F2,114 = 26.4, partial ƞ2 = 0.31, p

Dorsal stream cortical networks underpin a cluster of visuomotor, visuospatial, and visual attention functions. Sensitivity to global coherence of motion and static form is considered a signature of visual cortical processing in the dorsal stream (motion) relative to the ventral stream (form). Poorer sensitivity to global motion compared to global static form has been found across a diverse range of neurodevelopmental disorders, suggesting a "dorsal stream vulnerability." However, previous studies of global coherence sensitivity in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have shown conflicting findings. We examined two groups totalling 102 children with DCD (age 5–12 years), using the "Ball in the Grass" psychophysical test to compare sensitivity to global motion and global static form. Motor impairment was measured using the Movement-ABC (M-ABC). Global coherence sensitivity was compared with a typically developing control group (N = 69) in the same age range. Children with DCD showed impaired sensitivity to global motion (p = 0.002), but not global form (p = 0.695), compared to controls. Within the DCD group, motor impairment showed a significant linear relationship with global form sensitivity (p < 0.001). There was also a significant quadratic relationship between motor impairment and global motion sensitivity (p = 0.046), where poorer global motion sensitivity was only apparent with greater motor impairment. We suggest that two distinct visually related components, associated with global form and global motion sensitivity, contribute to DCD differentially over the range of severity of the disorder. Possible neural circuitry underlying these relationships is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dorsal stream cortical networks underpin a cluster of visuomotor, visuospatial, and visual attention functions. Sensitivity to global coherence of motion and static form is considered a signature of visual cortical processing in the dorsal stream (motion) relative to the ventral stream (form). Poorer sensitivity to global motion compared to global static form has been found across a diverse range of neurodevelopmental disorders, suggesting a “dorsal stream vulnerability.” However, previous studies of global coherence sensitivity in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have shown conflicting findings. We examined two groups totalling 102 children with DCD (age 5–12 years), using the “Ball in the Grass” psychophysical test to compare sensitivity to global motion and global static form. Motor impairment was measured using the Movement-ABC (M-ABC). Global coherence sensitivity was compared with a typically developing control group (N = 69) in the same age range. Children with DCD showed impaired sensitivity to global motion (p = 0.002), but not global form (p = 0.695), compared to controls. Within the DCD group, motor impairment showed a significant linear relationship with global form sensitivity (p < 0.001). There was also a significant quadratic relationship between motor impairment and global motion sensitivity (p = 0.046), where poorer global motion sensitivity was only apparent with greater motor impairment. We suggest that two distinct visually related components, associated with global form and global motion sensitivity, contribute to DCD differentially over the range of severity of the disorder. Possible neural circuitry underlying these relationships is discussed.

Background: Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is the most common functional vestibular disorder. A multisensory mismatch altered by psychological influences is considered to be an important pathophysiological mechanism. Increased cortical and subcortical excitability may play a role in the pathophysiology of PPPD. We hypothesized that decreased motion perception thresholds reflect one mechanism of the abnormal vestibular responsiveness in this disorder. We investigated the vestibular perception thresholds and the vestibular ocular reflex with a rotatory chair experiment to gain insights in the processing and adaption to vestibular provocation.Methods: In this cross-sectional study 26 female PPPD patients and 33 healthy female age matched controls (HC) were investigated sitting in a motorized rotary chair shielded regarding visual and acoustic stimuli. The chair was rotated for 20 minutes with slowly increasing velocity to a maximum of 72°/s. We functionally tested motion perception thresholds and vegetative responses to rotation as well as vestibular-ocular reflex thresholds. We additionally investigated several psychological comorbidities (i.e. depression, anxiety, somatosensory amplification) using validated scores. Conventional dizziness scores were obtained to quantify the experienced dizziness and impact on daily life.Results: PPPD patients showed a significant reduced vestibulo-perceptual threshold (PPPD: 10.9°/s vs. HC: 29.5°/s; p<0.001) with increased motion sensitivity and concomitant vegetative response during and after the chair rotation compared to healthy controls. The extent of increased vestibular sensitivity was in correlation with the duration of the disease (p=0.043). No significant difference was measured regarding nystagmus parameters between both groups.Conclusion: PPPD patients showed increased vegetative response as well as decreased vestibulo-perceptual thresholds which are related to disease duration. This is of interest as PPPD might be sustained by increased vestibular excitability leading to motion intolerance and induction of dizziness when exposed to movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In primates, broad thorny retinal ganglion cells are highly sensitive to small, moving stimuli. They have tortuous, fine dendrites with many short, spine‐like branches that occupy three contiguous strata in the middle of the inner plexiform layer. The neural circuits that generate their responses to moving stimuli are not well‐understood, and that was the goal of this study. A connectome from central macaque retina was generated by serial block‐face scanning electron microscopy, a broad thorny cell was reconstructed, and its synaptic inputs were analyzed. It received fewer than 2% of its inputs from both ON and OFF types of bipolar cells; the vast majority of its inputs were from amacrine cells. The presynaptic amacrine cells were reconstructed, and seven types were identified based on their characteristic morphology. Two types of narrow‐field cells, knotty bistratified Type 1 and wavy multistratified Type 2, were identified. Two types of medium‐field amacrine cells, ON starburst and spiny, were also presynaptic to the broad thorny cell. Three types of wide‐field amacrine cells, wiry Type 2, stellate wavy, and semilunar Type 2, also made synapses onto the broad thorny cell. Physiological experiments using a macaque retinal preparation in vitro confirmed that broad thorny cells received robust excitatory input from both the ON and the OFF pathways. Given the paucity of bipolar cell inputs, it is likely that amacrine cells provided much of the excitatory input, in addition to inhibitory input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concussion can lead to various symptoms such as balance problems, memory impairments, dizziness, and/or headaches. It has been previously suggested that during self-motion relevant tasks, individuals with concussion may rely heavily on visual information to compensate for potentially less reliable vestibular inputs and/or problems with multisensory integration. As such, concussed individuals may also be more sensitive to other visually-driven sensations such as visually induced motion sickness (VIMS). To investigate whether concussed individuals are at elevated risk of experiencing VIMS, we exposed participants with concussion (n = 16) and healthy controls (n = 15) to a virtual scene depicting visual self-motion down a grocery store aisle at different speeds. Participants with concussion were further separated into symptomatic and asymptomatic groups. VIMS was measured with the SSQ before and after stimulus exposure, and visual dependence, self-reported dizziness, and somatization were recorded at baseline. Results showed that concussed participants who were symptomatic demonstrated significantly higher SSQ scores after stimulus presentation compared to healthy controls and those who were asymptomatic. Visual dependence was positively correlated with the level of VIMS in healthy controls and participants with concussion. Our results suggest that the presence of concussion symptoms at time of testing significantly increased the risk and severity of VIMS. This finding is of relevance with regards to the use of visual display devices such as Virtual Reality applications in the assessment and rehabilitation of individuals with concussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Vestibular migraine (VM) patients are ictally and interictally hypersensitive for self‐motion and visual perception. Increased cortical excitability of the vestibular system represented by lowered motion perception thresholds might play an important role in the pathophysiology of VM. We aimed to compare motion perception thresholds and the vegetative response to rotatory motion, as well as the vestibulo‐ocular reflex (VOR) during rotation in VM patients compared to healthy controls (HC). Methods: In this cross‐sectional study, 28 female VM patients in the interictal state and 33 age‐ and gender‐matched HC were investigated sitting in a motorized rotary chair shielded regarding visual and acoustic stimuli for 20 min with slowly increasing velocity (maximum = 72°/s). The motion perception threshold was indicated by the participants by pushing a button. During and after rotation, participants rated the presence and extent of motion sickness using a sickness rating scale. Results: We detected lower motion perception thresholds (7.54°/s vs. 23.49°/s; p < 0.001) in VM patients compared to HC but no difference at the basic VOR thresholds. Furthermore, the patients showed enhanced susceptibility to motion sickness during and after the rotation. Conclusions: We provide evidence for decreased motion perception thresholds and pronounced susceptibility to motion sickness in VM patients in the interictal state, which could indicate alterations in higher levels of vestibular processing. Future studies should determine whether this could be the pathophysiological hallmark of VM either as a unique disease entity or in differentiation from other forms of migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereoscopic video quality assessment has become a major research topic in recent years. Existing stereoscopic video quality metrics are predominantly based on stereoscopic image quality metrics extended to the time domain via for example temporal pooling. These approaches do not explicitly consider the motion sensitivity of the Human Visual System (HVS). To address this limitation, this paper introduces a novel HVS model inspired by physiological findings characterising the motion sensitive response of complex cells in the primary visual cortex (V1 area). The proposed HVS model generalises previous HVS models, which characterised the behaviour of simple and complex cells but ignored motion sensitivity, by estimating optical flow to measure scene velocity at different scales and orientations. The local motion characteristics (direction and amplitude) are used to modulate the output of complex cells. The model is applied to develop a new type of full-reference stereoscopic video quality metrics which uniquely combine non-motion sensitive and motion sensitive energy terms to mimic the response of the HVS. A tailored two-stage multi-variate stepwise regression algorithm is introduced to determine the optimal contribution of each energy term. The two proposed stereoscopic video quality metrics are evaluated on three stereoscopic video datasets. Results indicate that they achieve average correlations with subjective scores of 0.9257 (PLCC), 0.9338 and 0.9120 (SRCC), 0.8622 and 0.8306 (KRCC), and outperform previous stereoscopic video quality metrics including other recent HVS-based metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasol cells are one of the major types of primate retinal ganglion cells. The goal of this study was to describe the synaptic inputs that shape the light responses of the ON type of parasol cells, which are excited by increments in light intensity. A connectome from central macaque retina was generated by serial blockface scanning electron microscopy. Six neighboring ON parasol cells were reconstructed, and their synaptic inputs were analyzed. On average, they received 21% of their input from bipolar cells, excitatory local circuit neurons receiving input from cones. The majority of their input was from amacrine cells, local circuit neurons of the inner retina that are typically inhibitory. Their contributions to the neural circuit providing input to parasol cells are not well‐understood, and the focus of this study was on the presynaptic wide‐field amacrine cells, which provided 17% of the input to ON parasol cells. These are GABAergic amacrine cells with long, relatively straight dendrites, and sometimes also axons, that run in a single, narrow stratum of the inner plexiform layer. The presynaptic wide‐field amacrine cells were reconstructed, and two types were identified based on their characteristic morphology. One presynaptic amacrine cell was identified as semilunar type 2, a polyaxonal cell that is electrically coupled to ON parasol cells. A second amacrine was identified as wiry type 2, a type known to be sensitive to motion. These inputs likely make ON parasol cells more sensitive to stimuli that are rapidly changing outside their classical receptive fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Motion sensitivity, or motion sickness, is common in modern vehicular and visually stimulating environments. Several studies have shown a relationship between motion sensitivity and decreased postural stability. We aimed to evaluate the effects of head motion (horizontal and vertical) on postural stability in healthy adults with and without chronic motion sensitivity (CMS). Methods: Sixty healthy adult men and women (age, 20–40 years) with CMS (CMS group, n = 30) and without CMS (non-CMS group, n = 30) participated in the study. Postural stability was assessed during three conditions (static, horizontal head motion, and vertical head motion) using computerized dynamic posturography. Group and condition-related differences in equilibrium scores were evaluated. Results: There was no significant group x condition interaction (F2,114 = 0.9, partial ƞ2 = 0.04, p = 0.35). However, significant condition-related differences in equilibrium scores were observed (F2,114 = 26.4, partial ƞ2 = 0.31, p < 0.001). Equilibrium scores were significantly worse in the horizontal and vertical head motion conditions compared to those in the static condition (p < 0.001), but were comparable in vertical and horizontal head motion conditions (p = 0.27). Conclusions: Postural stability was lower in the horizontal and vertical conditions compared to the static condition. However, horizontal and vertical head motions had comparable effects on postural stability in both CMS and non-CMS groups, contrary to our expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some people doubt that the concept of developmental dyslexia (DD) is useful at all because the phonological weaknesses seen in DD cannot be distinguished from those found in every person with poor reading skills, whatever their cause. Here I argue that true DD is characterised by poor temporal processing, hence impaired visual and auditory sequencing, that is caused by impaired development of transient/magnocellular (M-) systems throughout the brain. These deficits can be measured in order to distinguish the causes of the phonological weaknesses in DD from those causing similar deficits in other types of poor reading. Importantly this knowledge can be exploited to develop effective improvements in treatment. The evidence for impaired visual magnocellular function in many, if not all, people with dyslexia is now overwhelming; it is supported not only by psychophysical tests of M- function, but also by electrophysiological, eye movement, attentional, imaging, interventional and genetic findings. Analogously, auditory temporal processing is mediated by auditory transient, 'magnocellular', processing systems, and evidence is accumulating persuasively that this system is also impaired in dyslexics. I briefly introduce the idea that 'motor magnocellular systems' may also be impaired in dyslexia, then consider genetic, immunological and nutritional factors that interact to cause the impaired magnocellular phenotype. I then discuss why the dyslexic phenotype is so common by speculating about what strengths it might confer that would maintain the responsible genes in the human genome. • The phonological deficit in developmental dyslexia is due to poor visual sequencing of the letters and poor auditory sequencing of the letter sounds in words. • These deficiencies result from impaired development of CNS timing systems which are mediated by large 'magnocellular' neurones throughout the brain. • The evidence is now overwhelming that people with dyslexia have impaired development of magnocellular neurons. • This abnormality has a genetic, immunological and nutritional basis. • This new understanding is enabling greatly improved diagnosis and remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human figures have been animated using a variety of geometric models including stick figures polygonal models and NURBS-based models with muscles flexible skin or clothing. This paper reports on experimental results indicating that a viewer's perception of motion characteristics is affected by the geometric model used for rendering. Subjects were shown a series of paired motion sequences and asked if the two motions in each pair were the same or differentJhe motion sequences in each pair were rendered using the same geometric model. For the three types of motion variation tested sensitivity scores indicate that subjects were better able to observe changes with the polygonal model than they were with the stick figure model. ©1998 IEEE.

Human figures have been animated using a wide variety of geometric models including stick figures, polygonal models, and NURBS-based models with muscles, flexible skin, or clothing. This paper reports on experiments designed to ascertain whether a viewer's perception of motion characteristics is affected by the geometric model used for rendering. Subjects were shown a series of paired motion sequences and asked if the two motions in each pair were `the same' or `different.' The two motion sequences in each pair used the same geometric model. For each trial, the pairs of motion sequences were grouped into two sets where one set was rendered with a stick figure model and the other set was rendered with a polygonal model. Sensitivity measures for each trial indicate that for these sequences subjects were better able to discriminate motion variations with the polygonal model than with the stick figure model.

Background and Purpose: Motion sensitivity is a common condition among the general population and may be accompanied by postural instability and anxiety. Preliminary studies suggest that minimal dosage of gaze stability exercises improves postural stability in young adults with chronic motion sensitivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of progressive gaze stability exercises on postural stability, motion sensitivity, and anxiety in healthy young adults with chronic motion sensitivity. Methods: We conducted a single-blind randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of gaze stability exercises on chronic motion sensitivity. Forty-one participants of both genders ages 20 to 40 years with chronic motion sensitivity were randomly assigned to 2 groups. The intervention group performed gaze stability exercises while the sham group performed saccadic eye movement exercises for 6 weeks. Computerized Dynamic Posturography with Immersion Virtual Reality (CDP-IVR)--condition 1 (C1) and condition 2 (C2)--Motion Sensitivity Quotient (MSQ), Motion Sickness Sensitivity Susceptibility Questionnaire Short Form (MSSQ-Short: MSA, MSB), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI Form Y-2) were the outcome measures used. Results: There was no significant group x time interaction for MSA, MSB, MSSQ percentile, STAI, MSQ, C1 mean, or C2 mean. However, posttreatment a significant difference in the mean CDP-IVR score of C2 was identified between the 2 groups. For C2, the intervention group demonstrated a 117% increase in the mean CDP-IVR score compared with a 35.2% increase in the sham group. MSQ reduced significantly from baseline to 6 weeks postintervention in the intervention group (4.0 ± 1.2 vs 1.9 ± 0.9). Anxiety was significantly reduced in the sham group only (38.2 ± 1.9 vs 35.8 ± 2.2). Discussion and Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, progressive gaze stability exercises appear to have value for managing chronic motion sensitivity in healthy young adults. Further research with larger sample size and broader age range is needed to generalize these findings. Video Abstract available for more insights from the authors (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww. com/JNPT/A203). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Chronic motion sensitivity (CMS) has been defined as a feeling of un-wellness elicited by either actual or perceived motion. CMS is a common condition and is more prevalent in females than in males. In addition to a variety of symptoms, young adults with CMS have less postural stability than those without CMS. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether dependence on visual cues for postural stability is different between young adults with and without CMS, and whether it differs by gender within each group. METHODS: Sixty young adults (30 females and 30 males) were assigned to one of two groups (CMS or non-CMS) using the Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire-Short Form. Postural stability was measured for all participants using the Bertec Balance Advantage-Computerized Dynamic Posturography with Immersion Virtual Reality. RESULTS: A significant difference was found in mean postural stability scores during immersion virtual reality between the CMS and non-CMS groups (p < 0.001); however, no significant difference was shown in mean postural stability between males and females within the CMS and non-CMS groups (p = 0.10 and p = 0.97, respectively). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that young adults with CMS are over-reliant on visual cues for postural stability, and that visual dependence is not influenced by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying perceptual thresholds is critical for understanding the mechanisms that underlie signal evolution. Using computer-animated stimuli, we examined visual speed sensitivity in the Jacky dragon Amphibolurus muricatus, a species that makes extensive use of rapid motor patterns in social communication. First, focal lizards were tested in discrimination trials using random-dot kinematograms displaying combinations of speed, coherence, and direction. Second, we measured subject lizards' ability to predict the appearance of a secondary reinforcer (1 of 3 different computer-generated animations of invertebrates: cricket, spider, and mite) based on the direction of movement of a field of drifting dots by following a set of behavioural responses (e.g., orienting response, latency to respond) to our virtual stimuli. We found an effect of both speed and coherence, as well as an interaction between these 2 factors on the perception of moving stimuli. Overall, our results showed that Jacky dragons have acute sensitivity to high speeds. We then employed an optic flow analysis to match the performance to ecologically relevant motion. Our results suggest that the Jacky dragon visual system may have been shaped to detect fast motion. This pre-existing sensitivity may have constrained the evolution of conspecific displays. In contrast, Jacky dragons may have difficulty in detecting the movement of ambush predators, such as snakes and of some invertebrate prey. Our study also demonstrates the potential of the computeranimated stimuli technique for conducting nonintrusive tests to explore motion range and sensitivity in a visually mediated species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postural control requires complex processing of peripheral sensory inputs from the visual, somatosensory and vestibular systems. Motion sensitivity and decreased postural control are influenced by visual-vestibular conflicts.The purpose of this study was to measure the difference between the postural control of healthy adults with and without history of sub-clinical chronic motion sensitivity using a computerized dynamic posturography in a virtual reality environment. Sub-clinical chronic motion sensitivity was operationally defined as a history of avoiding activities causing dizziness, nausea, imbalance, and/or blurred vision without having a related medical diagnosis. Methods: Twenty healthy adults between 22 and 33 years of age participated in the study. Eleven subjects had sub-clinical chronic motion sensitivity and 9 subjects did not. Postural control was measured in both groups using the Bertec Balance Advantage-Dynamic Computerized Dynamic Posturography with Immersion Virtual Reality (CDP-IVR). The CDP-IVR reports an over-all equilibrium score based on subjects’ center of gravity displacement and postural sway while immersed in a virtual reality environment. Subjects were tested on stable (condition 1) and unstable (condition2) platform conditions. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of mean age, height, weight, body mass index in kg/m2, postural control scores for conditions 2, and average (p>0.05). However, significant differences were observed in mean postural control for condition 1 between groups (p=0.03). Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that healthy young adults without chronic sub-clinical motion sensitivity have better postural control than those with chronic sub-clinical motion sensitivity. Further investigation is warranted to explore wider age ranges with larger samples sizes as well as intervention strategies to improve postural control.

Synaptic circuits for identified behaviors in the Drosophila brain have typically been considered from either a developmental or functional perspective without reference to how the circuits might have been inherited from ancestral forms. For example, two candidate pathways for ON- and OFF-edge motion detection in the visual system act via circuits that use respectively either T4 or T5, two cell types of the fourth neuropil, or lobula plate, that exhibit narrow-field direction-selective responses and provide input to wide-field tangential neurons. T4 or T5 both have four subtypes that terminate one each in the four strata of the lobula plate. Representatives are reported in a wide range of Diptera, and both cell types exhibit various similarities in: 1) the morphology of their dendritic arbors; 2) their four morphological and functional subtypes; 3) their cholinergic profile in Drosophila; 4) their input from the pathways of L3 cells in the first neuropil, or lamina, and by one of a pair of lamina cells, L1 (to the T4 pathway) and L2 (to the T5 pathway); and 5) their innervation by a single, wide-field contralateral tangential neuron from the central brain. Progenitors of both also express the gene atonal early in their proliferation from the inner anlage of the developing optic lobe, being alone among many other cell type progeny to do so. Yet T4 receives input in the second neuropil, or medulla, and T5 in the third neuropil or lobula. Here we suggest that these two cell types were originally one, that their ancestral cell population duplicated and split to innervate separate medulla and lobula neuropils, and that a fiber crossing – the internal chiasma – arose between the two neuropils. The split most plausibly occurred, we suggest, with the formation of the lobula as a new neuropil that formed when it separated from its ancestral neuropil to leave the medulla, suggesting additionally that medulla input neurons to T4 and T5 may also have had a common origin.

Background: In order to maintain balance, input from the vestibular, somatosensory, and visual systems must work together to allow the patient to perform comfortably and to exist in his or her world. Any imbalance leads to a multitude of symptoms, including vertigo or disequilibrium. This paper analyzes a case of a patient suffering from long-standing vertigo and self-reported debilitating visual dysfunction. Case Report: A 47-year-old female presented with complaints of long-standing dizziness, a feeling of sickness in busy areas like grocery stores, the inability to multitask (including the inability to walk and talk at the same time comfortably), motion sensitivity, and disorientation. Due to her symptoms, the patient was unable to work, drive, or interact in social situations. Visual analysis revealed convergence insufficiency, oculomotor dysfunction, visual-vestibular sensory mismatch, and anomalous spatial perception. Traumatic brain injury testing quantified the patient's complaints. Completion of a vision therapy program, with an emphasis on dynamic techniques including procedures to rehabilitate accommodative, vergence, and oculomotor insufficiencies, allowed the patient to return to her activities of daily living. Conclusion: In order to assist in the rehabilitative process, optometrists and other medical professionals must be cognizant of the vital role the visual system plays in regulating balance. Vision therapy must be considered as a treatment option to allow the rehabilitation process to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The predominant view of motion and form processing in the human visual system assumes that these two attributes are handled by separate and independent modules. Motion processing involves filtering by direction-selective sensors, followed by integration to solve the aperture problem. Form processing involves filtering by orientation-selective and size-selective receptive fields, followed by integration to encode object shape. It has long been known that motion signals can influence form processing in the well-known Gestalt principle of common fate; texture elements which share a common motion property are grouped into a single contour or texture region. However recent research in psychophysics and neuroscience indicates that the influence of form signals on motion processing is more extensive than previously thought. First, the salience and apparent direction of moving lines depends on how the local orientation and direction of motion combine to match the receptive field properties of motion-selective neurons. Second, orientation signals generated by ‘motion-streaks’ influence motion processing; motion sensitivity, apparent direction and adaptation are affected by simultaneously present orientation signals. Third, form signals generated by human body shape influence biological motion processing, as revealed by studies using point-light motion stimuli. Thus form-motion integration seems to occur at several different levels of cortical processing, from V1 to STS.

Purpose To quantify the effects of driver age on night-time pedestrian conspicuity, and to determine whether individual differences in visual performance can predict drivers' ability to recognise pedestrians at night. Methods Participants were 32 visually normal drivers (20 younger: M = 24.4 years ± 6.4 years; 12 older: M = 72.0 years ± 5.0 years). Visual performance was measured in a laboratory-based testing session including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, motion sensitivity and the useful field of view. Night-time pedestrian recognition distances were recorded while participants drove an instrumented vehicle along a closed road course at night; to increase the workload of drivers, auditory and visual distracter tasks were presented for some of the laps. Pedestrians walked in place, sideways to the oncoming vehicles, and wore either a standard high visibility reflective vest or reflective tape positioned on the movable joints (biological motion). Results Driver age and pedestrian clothing significantly ( p < 0.05) affected the distance at which the drivers first responded to the pedestrians. Older drivers recognised pedestrians at approximately half the distance of the younger drivers and pedestrians were recognised more often and at longer distances when they wore a biological motion reflective clothing configuration than when they wore a reflective vest. Motion sensitivity was an independent predictor of pedestrian recognition distance, even when controlling for driver age. Conclusions The night-time pedestrian recognition capacity of older drivers was significantly worse than that of younger drivers. The distance at which drivers first recognised pedestrians at night was best predicted by a test of motion sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis We examined whether scores on a motion sensitivity questionnaire (MSQ) could distinguish between vestibular migraine (VM) and Meniere's disease (MD). As a secondary goal, we examined whether scores on the MSQ correlated with results from caloric testing. Study Design This study administered a telephone questionnaire to subjects who met clinical criteria for vestibular migraine, Meniere's disease, and controls. Methods A MSQ was administered to 20 subjects meeting American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAO) criteria for MD, 30 subjects meeting Neuhauser criteria for both probable vestibular migraine (pVM) and definite vestibular migraine (dVM), and 22 controls. Results The average score on the MSQ was 5.9 for VM, 4.25 for MD, and 0.4 for controls. Both the VM and MD scored significantly higher than the controls ( P = 0.0001), but results were not statistically different from each other ( P = 0.17). However, the average score for subjects with dVM was 7.1, which was significantly higher than subjects with pVM whose average score was 4.2 ( P = 0.045) and higher than subjects with MD ( P = 0.048). When each question of the MSQ was analyzed, motion sensitivity to riding in a car was found to be significantly different between VM (average score 1.1) and MD (average score 0.5), with P value of 0.048. Scores of MSQ did not correlate with the total eye speed (TES) on caloric testing. Conclusions Subjects with VM and MD had elevated levels of motion sensitivity compared to controls. Subjects with VM had more motion sensitivity to riding in a car than those with MD, but their TES was not different. Level of Evidence 3b. Laryngoscope, 124:969-973, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The predominant view of motion and form processing in the human visual system assumes that these two attributes are handled by separate and independent modules. Motion processing involves filtering by direction-selective sensors, followed by integration to solve the aperture problem. Form processing involves filtering by orientation-selective and size-selective receptive fields, followed by integration to encode object shape. It has long been known that motion signals can influence form processing in the well-known Gestalt principle of common fate; texture elements which share a common motion property are grouped into a single contour or texture region. However, recent research in psychophysics and neuroscience indicates that the influence of form signals on motion processing is more extensive than previously thought. First, the salience and apparent direction of moving lines depends on how the local orientation and direction of motion combine to match the receptive field properties of motion-selective neurons. Second, orientation signals generated by "motion-streaks" influence motion processing; motion sensitivity, apparent direction and adaptation are affected by simultaneously present orientation signals. Third, form signals generated by human body shape influence biological motion processing, as revealed by studies using point-light motion stimuli. Thus, form-motion integration seems to occur at several different levels of cortical processing, from V1 to STS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: Individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) frequently complain of increased sensitivity to visual motion. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the coherent motion threshold (CMT) in subjects with mTBI and reported visual motion sensitivity. Methods: Fourteen adult subjects with mTBI and symptoms of motion sensitivity were tested. They were compared with 40 age-matched asymptomatic visually normal individuals. CMT was assessed using a 2-alternative, forced choice paradigm. A symptom rating-scale questionnaire related to motion and light sensitivity, vertigo, and self-reported reading ability was also administered to the mTBI group. Results: Mean CMTs were significantly elevated in the mTBI (8.81%) versus the normal subjects (6.53%). There was a trend for a progressive increase in mean CMT in mTBI with increased symptoms related to visual motion sensitivity and vertigo. However, there was no apparent relation to either light sensitivity or self-reported reading ability in mTBI. There was no significant age effect in either group. Conclusions: The elevated CMT in mTBI suggests damage to the magnocellular pathway, such as extrastriate visual cortical area V5, visual area medial temporal, and the medial superior temporal cortex, which is involved directly in various aspects of motion processing. These findings are consistent with the subjects’ symptoms of motion sensitivity and vertigo in their natural environments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To determine whether the Wu-Jones Motion Sensitivity Screening Test (MSST) accurately reflects the burden of optic nerve disease in several onchoendemic communities in Africa. Materials and Methods: The MSST was used to evaluate subjects in the communities of Raja in Sudan, Bushenyi in Uganda, Morogoro in Tanzania, and Ikon, Olomboro, and Gembu in Nigeria. Motion sensitivity was expressed as a percentage of motion detected in the individual eye, and this was averaged for the community. A perfectly normal eye would detect all motion and score 100%. Results: In this study, 3858 eyes of 2072 subjects were tested. The test was completed in 76% of respondents. Acceptability was high. Average test time was 120.4 s. The overall mean motion sensitivity of all eyes tested was 88.49%, ±17.49. Using a cutoff level of 50%, 6.4% of all subjects tested were subnormal. The highest proportion of subnormals recorded was in Morogoro at 12.7%. Severe defects in a community best correlated with optic nerve disease prevalence, while the proportion of the defect from a higher cutoff level best correlated with overall ocular morbidity. A repeat examination in the next 5 years following ivermectin treatment will show the influence, if any, on community-wide MSST performance. Conclusion: A wide range in community scores reflected disease diversity. The MSST appears to be a useful test in community-wide screening and diagnosis as it reflects the general level of ocular pathology and specifically, optic nerve disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) at the fovea and at 10° of horizontal retinal eccentricity and to determine if there was a correlation between CFF and the degree of light and motion sensitivity in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Mean CFF thresholds at the fovea, and 10° to the left and right of the fovea, were obtained in 14 mild TBI and 29 visually normal subjects. A questionnaire was used to quantify the degree of light and motion sensitivity and related factors. Results: There was no effect of age on CFF under any test condition in either group, nor was there a relation in the TBI group between reported light or motion sensitivity and CFF. Peripheral CFF values were lower in both populations. Among the TBI subjects, there was a trend for lower peripheral CFF values in the periphery and greater mean variability under all 3 test conditions. Conclusions: Decreased sensitivity and increased variability in CFF measurements in the TBI population can be attributed to damage to the higher visual pathways. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite motion of the entire retinal image that results from fixational eye-movements, the visual scene is perceived as stationary. One hypothesis to account for this observation is that normal motion sensitivity is limited by the variability of fixational eye velocity. The present experiments tested this hypothesis by comparing motion sensitivity and the variability of fixational eye velocity in corresponding meridians. Speed thresholds to detect horizontal, vertical, and rotary motion in a set of eight random-dot patches were measured, while normal observers monocularly viewed the stimulus with gaze either straight-ahead or deviated to the left by 45°. Eye-movement recordings using the search-coil technique were used to estimate the variability of eye velocity in the horizontal, vertical, and torsional meridians during fixation. As reported previously by Murakami (), the averaged thresholds for horizontal and vertical motion correlated with the averaged variability of eye velocity in the horizontal and vertical meridians when observers looked straight-ahead. However, no relationship existed between the threshold for rotary motion and the variability of eye velocity in the torsional meridian. Furthermore, no relationship existed between the motion threshold and the variability of eye velocity in any meridian during fixation in lateral eccentric gaze. These results are only partly consistent with the hypothesis that fixation variability limits motion sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adults have little difficulty perceiving objects as complete despite occlusion, but newborn infants perceive moving partly occluded objects solely in terms of visible surfaces. The developmental mechanisms leading to perceptual completion have never been adequately explained. Here, the authors examine the potential contributions of oculomotor behavior and motion sensitivity to perceptual completion performance in individual infants. Young infants were presented with a center-occluded rod. moving back and forth against a textured background, to assess perceptual completion. Infants also participated in tasks to assess oculomotor scanning patterns and motion direction discrimination. Individual differences in perceptual completion performance were strongly correlated with scanning patterns but were unrelated to motion direction discrimination. The authors present a new model of development of perceptual completion that posits a critical role for targeted visual scanning, an early developing oculomotor action system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigatethe clinical features and naturalhistory of mal de debarquement(MdD). Retrospective casereview with follow-up questionnaireand telephone interviews. University Neurotology Clinic. Patients seen between1980 and 2006 who developed apersistent sensation of rocking orswaying for at least 3 days after exposureto passive motion. Clinical features,diagnostic testing, and questionnaireresponses. Of 64 patients(75 % women) identifiedwith MdD, 34 completed follow-upquestionnaires and interviews in2006. Most patients had normalneurological exams, ENGs andbrain MRIs. The average age of thefirst MdD episode was 39 ± 13years. A total of 206 episodes wereexperienced by 64 patients. Ofthese, 104 episodes (51 %) lasted> 1 month; 18 %, > 1 year; 15 %, > 2years; 12 %, > 4 years, and 11 %, > 5years. Eighteen patients (28 %) subsequentlydeveloped spontaneousepisodes of MdD-like symptomsafter the initial MdD episode.There was a much higher rate ofmigraine in patients who went onto develop spontaneous episodes(73 %) than in those who did not(22 %). Subsequent episodes werelonger than earlier ones in mostpatients who had multiple episodes.Re-exposure to passivemotion temporarily decreasedsymptoms in most patients (66 %).Subjective intolerance to visualmotion increased (10 % to 66 %)but self-motion sensitivity did not(37 % to 50 %) with onset of MdD. The majority of MdDepisodes lasting longer than 3 daysresolve in less than one year but theprobability of resolution declineseach year. Many patients experiencemultiple MdD episodes. Somepatients develop spontaneousepisodes after the initial motiontriggeredepisode with migrainebeing a risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary objective: To determine whether critical flicker frequency (CFF) thresholds are abnormal in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and, if so, if they are correlated with the degree of reported motion and light sensitivity. Methods and procedures: The foveal CFF threshold was assessed in individuals with mild TBI (n = 18) having varying degrees of reported light and motion sensitivity. Mean CFF values were obtained using the ascending and descending psychophysical method of limits with binocular viewing at 40 cm. A 7-item, rating-scale questionnaire was used to assess the degree of light and motion sensitivity. These parameters were also assessed in a large visually-normal, non-TBI cohort. Main outcomes and results: CFF in the mild TBI group was not significantly different across age groups from the visually-normal, non-TBI cohort. However, mean CFF among the mild TBI subjects was significantly higher for the 'light sensitive' and 'motion sensitive' sub-groups when compared to the 'not light sensitive' and 'not motion sensitive' sub-groups. The majority of TBI subjects manifested both light and motion sensitivity. Conclusion: CFF was found to be related to the reported degree of light and motion sensitivity in individuals with mild TBI. Neurological disinhibition as a result of brain injury may be causal of the subjective hypersensitivity to light and motion in the presence of normal CFF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusions. The Dutch (Belgium) translation of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) has proven to be as consistent as the original version. In addition to the three original subscales, factor analysis revealed a fourth component scoring self-perceived effects of insufficient functioning of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). Focus should be on the DHI total score in order to compare future results with the existing literature. Objective. To conduct a factor analysis and to determine its internal consistency. Materials and methods. Charts of 214 outpatients, referred with dizziness or imbalance of vestibular and non-vestibular origin, were reviewed. Results. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for internal consistency were high for the total scale and good for the subscales. Corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.71 for 'restricted travelling' to 0.29 for 'difficulties reading', when items were correlated with their respective subtotals, and ranged from 0.69 (restricted participation in social activities) to 0.33 (stressed relationships), when correlated with the total score. A principal component analysis with orthogonal rotation was conducted, suggesting a four-factor solution. Two factors were related to vestibular handicap, referring to the original functional and emotional subcategories. The remaining two factors related to vestibular disability, documenting motion sensitivity (original physical subscale) and insufficient VOR functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnocellular system plays an important role in visual motion processing, controlling vergence eye movements, and in reading. Yellow filters may boost magnocellular activity by eliminating inhibitory blue input to this pathway. It was found that wearing yellow filters increased motion sensitivity, convergence, and accommodation in many children with reading difficulties, both immediately and after three months using the filters. Motion sensitivity was not increased using control neutral density filters. Moreover, readingimpaired children showed significant gains in reading ability after three months wearing the filters compared with those who had used a placebo. It was concluded that yellow filters can improve magnocellular function permanently. Hence, they should be considered as an alternative to corrective lenses, prisms, or exercises for treating poor convergence and accommodation, and also as an aid for children with reading problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much evidence indicates that young infants perceive unitary objects by analyzing patterns of motion, infants’ abilities to perceive object unity by analyzing Gestalt properties and by integrating distinct views of an object over time are in dispute. To address these controversies, four experiments investigated adults’ and infants’ perception of the unity of a center-occluded, moving rod with misaligned visible edges. Both alignment information and depth information affected adults’ and infants’ perception of object unity in similar ways, and infants perceived object unity by integrating information about object features over time. However, infants perceived a moving, misaligned, three-dimensional object as indeterminate in its connectedness, whereas adults perceived it as connected behind the occluder. These findings indicate that the effectiveness of common motion in specifying unified surfaces across an occluder is reduced by misalignment of edges. Alignment information enhances perception of object unity either by serving directly as information for unity or by optimizing the detectability of motion-carried information for unity. In addition, young infants are able to retain information about edge orientation over short intervals in determining connectedness via a process of spatiotemporal integration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes the morphology and response characteristics of two types of paired descending neurons (DNs) (classified as DNVII and DNIV) and two lobula neurons (HR1 and HP1) in the honeybee, Apis mellifera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reared cats in an environment illuminated stroboscopically at 8 Hz, and studied their ability to detect and discriminate the direction of motion of sinusoidal gratings. Normal cats, like humans, could discriminate the direction of a grating's motion at contrasts that are just barely visible. Strobe-reared cats could detect the grating at contrasts similar to those required by normal cats, but required contrasts that were about 10 times threshold to identify the direction of motion. We subsequently studied the activity of single units in the striate cortex in these cats, and found that directional motion selectivity - normally a prominant feature of striate cortical neurons - was almost absent; other cortical receptive field properties were roughly normal. These results suggest that directionally selective neurons are involved in visual discriminations based on the direction of motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Motion sensitivity after vestibular disorders is associated with symptoms of nausea, dizziness, and imbalance in busy environments. Dizziness and imbalance are reported in places such as supermarkets and shopping malls which have unstable visual backgrounds; however, the mechanism of motion sensitivity is poorly understood., Objective: The main aim of this exploratory observational study is to investigate visual fixations and postural sway in response to increasingly complex visual environments in healthy adults and adults with motion sensitivity., Methods: A total of 20 healthy adults and 20 adults with motion sensitivity will be recruited for this study. Visual fixations, postural sway, and body kinematics will be measured with a mobile eye tracker device, force plate, and 3D motion capture system, respectively. Participants will be exposed to experimental tasks requiring visual fixation on letters, projected on a range of backgrounds on a large screen during quiet stance. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) will be calculated for each of the variables. One-way independent-measures analyses of variance will be performed to investigate the differences between groups for all variables., Results: Data collection was started in May 2019 and was completed by February 2020. It was approved by Health and Disability Ethics Committees, Ministry of Health, New Zealand on November 2, 2018 (Ethics ref: 18/CEN/193). We are currently processing the data and will begin data analysis in July 2020. We expect the results to be available for publication by the end of 2020. The trial was funded by the Neurology Special Interest Group, Physiotherapy New Zealand, and the Eisdell Moore Centre in November 2018., Conclusions: This study will provide a detailed investigation of visual fixations in response to increasingly complex visual environments. Investigating characteristics of visual fixations in healthy adults and those with motion sensitivity will provide insight into this disabling condition and may inform the development of new intervention strategies which explicitly cater to the needs of this population., Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12619000254190; https://tinyurl.com/yxbn7nks., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/16805., (©Shikha Chaudhary, Nicola Saywell, Arun Kumar, Denise Taylor. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 27.07.2020.)

Lecture content and practical laboratory classes are ideally complementary. However, the types of experiments that have led to our detailed understanding of sensory neuroscience are often not amenable to classroom experimentation as they require expensive equipment, time-consuming surgeries, specialized experimental techniques, and the use of animals. While sometimes feasible in small group teaching, these experiments are not suitable for large cohorts of students. Previous attempts to expose students to sensory neuroscience experiments include: the use of electrophysiology preparations in invertebrates, data-driven simulations that do not replicate the experience of conducting an experiment, or simply observing an experiment in a research laboratory. We developed an online simulation of a visual neuroscience experiment in which extracellular recordings are made from a motion sensitive neuron. Students have control over stimulation parameters (direction and contrast) and can see and hear the action potential responses to stimuli as they are presented. The simulation provides an intuitive way for students to gain insight into neurophysiology, including experimental design, data collection and data analysis. Our simulation allows large cohorts of students to cost-effectively "experience" the results of animal research without ethical concerns, to be exposed to realistic data variability, and to develop their understanding of how sensory neuroscience experiments are conducted.

Little is known about vestibular-related timing processes in patients with disequilibrium. Patients with a history of migraine headaches often complain of significant motion sensitivity and long-term vague imbalance inconsistent with a peripheral vestibular disorder. Some of these people have episodic spells of severe vertigo termed 'vestibular migraines'. Other patients have no history of migraine but do report significant motion sensitivity. Motion sensitivity has typically been explained as a mismatch between the amplitude of vestibular and other (typically visual) sensory inputs. Another possibility is that motion sensitive patients may suffer from a mismatch in the temporal integration of vestibular and other sensory inputs. Here, we compared the temporal binding window (TBW) of vestibular + auditory stimuli in normal subjects, subjects with motion sensitivity, and those with both migraine and motion sensitivity. We asked subjects undergoing earth-vertical sinusoidal rotations at 0.5 Hz, 128°/s to identify whether a metronome-like series of tone bursts was synchronous with their cyclic motion. We calculated the TBW as the range in time encompassing the middle 68% of the area under the psychometric curve. The TBW in normal subjects was 312 ± 135 ms (mean ± SD), in subjects with motion sensitivity was 454 ± 103 ms, and in subjects with migraine and motion sensitivity was 451 ± 124 ms. The TBW of normal subjects was significantly shorter than the other groups. Temporal errors in perception, as manifested by a prolongation of the TBW, are a plausible mechanism for imbalance in patients with migraine and motion sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]