Viewing in Ambient Illumination 66

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Viewing in Ambient Illumination 66 VESTIBULO-OCULAR RESPONSES TO VERTICAL TRANSLATION by Ke Liao Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Thesis Adviser: Richard John Leigh M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY August, 2008 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Ke Liao candidate for the Ph.D. degree *. (signed) Robert F. Kirsch Ph.D (chair of the committee) R. John Leigh M.D. John Stahl M.D. Ph.D Louis F. Dell'Osso Ph.D Miklos Gratzl Ph.D (date) May 20th, 2008 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. Dedication To my parents 献给我的父母 And my wife 和我的妻子 Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 List of Tables 7 List of Figures 8 Acknowledgements 10 Abstract 11 Chapter 1 Introduction to Eye Movements during Natural Behaviors 13-40 1-1. Eye movements, visual acuity and motion parallax 13 1-2. Advantages of Studying Eye Movements 15 1-3. Eye movements during locomotion 17 1-4. Binocular vision and eye movements during locomotion 20 1-5. Prior Studies of translational vestibulo-ocular reflex (tVOR) 22 1-5-1. Methodological Considerations 22 1-5-2. Summary of tVOR Properties Reported to Date 24 1-6. Reference List 35 Chapter 2 Methodology 41-57 2-1. Summary of current eye movement recording techniques 41 2-1-1. Clinical observation and ophthalmoscopy 42 2-1-2. DC Electro-oculography (EOG) 43 1 2-1-3. Ocular electromyography (EMG) 44 2-1-4. Infrared reflection (IR) technique 44 2-1-5. Purkinje image tracker 45 2-1-6. Video-based systems (tracking pupil and reflected corneal images) 45 2-1-7. Magnetic search-coil systems 46 2-2. Rationale for using the magnetic search coil technique in the present study 48 2-3. Vestibular and visual stimuli selected for this study 49 2-4. Reference List 55 Chapter 3 Performance of the translational vestibulo-ocular reflex (tVOR) in normal human subjects 58-86 3-1. Introduction 58 3-2. Methods 60 3-3. Results 66 3-3-1. tVOR Responses during binocular viewing in ambient illumination 66 3-3-2. Comparison of tVOR responses during different viewing conditions 68 3-4. Discussion 70 3-4-1. Comparison with Prior Studies of tVOR 70 3-4-2. What mechanisms determine tVOR responses? 73 3-4-3. Possible role of tVOR during natural activities 74 3-5. Reference List 82 2 Chapter 4 Factors determining tVOR performance 87-105 4-1. Introduction 87 4-2. Methods 88 4-3. Results 91 4-3-1. Comparison of cancellation of tVOR and smooth visual tracking 91 4-3-2. Effect of moving visual background on tVOR 92 4-4. Discussion 93 4-5 Reference List 104 Chapter 5 Potential application of this study to clinic disorders---First Example: Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) 106-130 5-1. Introduction 106 5-2. Methods 109 5-2-1. Vestibulo-Ocular Testing 109 5-2-2. Vestibulo-Spinal Testing 111 5-3. Results 112 5-3-1. Responses to Translating while Rotating 112 5-3-2. Responses to Click-Induced Stimulation 114 5-4. Discussion 115 5-5 Reference List 125 3 Chapter 6 Potential application of this study to clinic disorders---Second Example: Cerebellar Ataxias 131-141 6-1. Introduction 131 6-2. Methods 132 6-2-1. Stimuli 132 6-2-2. Measurement of Eye and Head Movements 133 6-3. Results 134 6-3-1. Translational VOR 134 6-3-2. Rotational VOR 135 6-4. Discussion 135 6-5. Reference List 141 Chapter 7 General Discussion and Future Research of the Translation Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex 142-167 7-1. History of a scientific journey 142 7-2. Development of a new device to test tVOR 143 7-3. Safety procedures 148 7-4. Remaining engineering considerations 148 7-5. Evolution of findings and hypotheses for tVOR 149 7-5-1. The first finding: tVOR does not maintain foveal foveation of visual targets 149 4 7-5-2. The second finding: tVOR responsivity is determined by binocular visual cues, but not vergence angle or visual tracking mechanisms 152 7-5-3. A hypothesis to account for visual influences on tvor and a test of the hypothesis 154 7-5-4. Applying present findings to interpret the effects of disease 155 7-6. Concluding Remarks 157 7-7. Reference List 165 Appendix 1 Three dimension transformation algorithm 168-174 A1-1. Head three dimension rotation 168 A1-2. Eye three dimension rotations 169 A1-3. Required three dimension eye rotations 171 A1-4. Reference List 174 Appendix 2 Details of instrumentations 175-195 A2-1. Summary of system Infrastructure 175 A2-2. Control of Moog™ motion platform 176 A2-2-1. Introduction to the Moog™ motion platform 176 A2-2-2. Procedure to generate command to move the Moog™ platform 178 A2-2-3. Operation and maintenance of Moog™ 179 A2-3. Operation of Vicon™ infrared tracking system 181 5 A2-3-1. Introduction to Vicon™ infrared tracking system 181 A2-3-2. Calibration of Vicon™ 181 A2-3-3. Collecting data from Vicon™ 184 A2-4. Operation of the magnetic search coil system 184 A2-4-1. Introduction to the magnetic search coil system 184 A2-4-2. Calibration of 3-D coil system 185 A2-5. Synchronization of coil system and Vicon™ system 189 A2-6. Transformation of raw data to eye movement measurement 190 Bibliography 196-213 6 List of Tables 1-1 Fnctional classes of human eye movements 30 1-2 Summary of prior studies of tVOR 31 2-1 Methods available for measuring eye movements 54 5-1 Summary of clinical information of patients studied 123 6-1 Summary of Cerebellar Ataxia Patients Studied 140 7 List of Figures 1-1 Geometry of motion parallax 27 1-2 Geometry of the angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (aVOR) 28 1-3 Geometry of the translational vestibulo-ocular reflex (tVOR) 29 3-1 Representative eye movement records from one subject 78 3-2 Summary of tVOR responsivity and aVOR gain from all 20 subjects 79 3-3 (A) Comparison of direct and prism viewing on tVOR responsivity 80 3-3 (B) Comparison of vertical smooth-tracking and tVOR 80 3-4 Retinal image speed (RIS) as a function of target distance 81 4-1 Representative records of one subject during viewing far, near target and mirror viewing 97 4-2 Summary of tVOR responses to bob at 2.0 Hz 98 4-3 Representative records comparing direct versus prism viewing 99 4-4 Representative records of the effects of illumination on tVOR 100 4-5 Comparison of measured CanR and estimated CanR 101 4-6 Effects of tVOR with a moving background 102 4-7 Geometry of peak retinal image speed (RIS) as a function of target distance 103 5-1 Comparison of VOR for a normal subject and a PSP patient 120 5-2 Comparison of aVOR (A) and tVOR (B) responsivity ratio 121 5-3 Amplitudes of the VEMPs in PSP patients and healthy controls. 122 6-1 Representative responses to vertical translation in one normal subject and three patients 138 6-2 (A) Responsivity and vergence angle in normal subjects and patients 139 6-2 (B) Comparison of tVOR responsivity and rVOR gain in each subject 139 7-1 Temporal installation of Moog platform in office space 159 8 7-2 Close view of Moog base 160 7-3 Early photographic records of human locomotion 160 7-4 Chair and coil frame for Moog 161 7-5 tVOR during viewing targets at optical infinity 162 7-6 Moog with magnetic field coils, skate-board helmet and safety rails installed 163 7-7 Visual background on a large flat-screen monitor 164 A1-1 Vectors of coil frame and coils on the eye ball 173 A2-1 Moog motion platform 193 A2-2 Coil frame, helmet and the head rest mounted on the moog platform 193 A2-3 Magnetic search coil after inserted to human eye 194 A2-4 Front panel of the moog computer 195 9 Acknowledgements Studying in USA and getting a Ph.D degree has long been my dream. Now I am very close to it. I want to thank Dr. R. John Leigh for his years-long support. Without his help, I wouldn’t have been able to come to the United States. He kept the position and tried his best to help me after my visa was checked for one year. Without his help, my journey to pursue Ph.D degree would have also been much longer and harder. I also want to thank my committee members, Drs. Louis F. Dell’Osso, Robert F. Kirsch, Miklos Gratzl, and John Stahl for giving their insightful comments and guidance during the course of my research. Their suggestions have helped me to develop a more complete and robust research project. Many thanks to my colleagues at the Lab, from whom I got great help every time and learned a lot during our conversations and discussions. Special thanks to our secretary, Ms. Ann Rutledge, who has provided not only the office supplies but also wisdom of life with which I am able to live more comfortable in a new environment and a different culture. Finally, I want to thank my family including my parents and my wife. They have always been supportive to me in my life. My wife gave up her career in China, and came to United States to accompany me.
Recommended publications
  • Focusing on the Re-Emergence of Primitive Reflexes Following Acquired Brain Injuries
    33 Focusing on The Re-Emergence of Primitive Reflexes Following Acquired Brain Injuries Resiliency Through Reconnections - Reflex Integration Following Brain Injury Alex Andrich, OD, FCOVD Scottsdale, Arizona Patti Andrich, MA, OTR/L, COVT, CINPP September 19, 2019 Alex Andrich, OD, FCOVD Patti Andrich, MA, OTR/L, COVT, CINPP © 2019 Sensory Focus No Pictures or Videos of Patients The contents of this presentation are the property of Sensory Focus / The VISION Development Team and may not be reproduced or shared in any format without express written permission. Disclosure: BINOVI The patients shown today have given us permission to use their pictures and videos for educational purposes only. They would not want their images/videos distributed or shared. We are not receiving any financial compensation for mentioning any other device, equipment, or services that are mentioned during this presentation. Objectives – Advanced Course Objectives Detail what primitive reflexes (PR) are Learn how to effectively screen for the presence of PRs Why they re-emerge following a brain injury Learn how to reintegrate these reflexes to improve patient How they affect sensory-motor integration outcomes How integration techniques can be used in the treatment Current research regarding PR integration and brain of brain injuries injuries will be highlighted Cases will be presented Pioneers to Present Day Leaders Getting Back to Life After Brain Injury (BI) Descartes (1596-1650) What is Vision? Neuro-Optometric Testing Vision writes spatial equations
    [Show full text]
  • The Grasp Reflex and Moro Reflex in Infants: Hierarchy of Primitive
    Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Pediatrics Volume 2012, Article ID 191562, 10 pages doi:10.1155/2012/191562 Review Article The Grasp Reflex and Moro Reflex in Infants: Hierarchy of Primitive Reflex Responses Yasuyuki Futagi, Yasuhisa Toribe, and Yasuhiro Suzuki Department of Pediatric Neurology, Osaka Medical Center and Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health, 840 Murodo-cho, Izumi, Osaka 594-1101, Japan Correspondence should be addressed to Yasuyuki Futagi, [email protected] Received 27 October 2011; Accepted 30 March 2012 Academic Editor: Sheffali Gulati Copyright © 2012 Yasuyuki Futagi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The plantar grasp reflex is of great clinical significance, especially in terms of the detection of spasticity. The palmar grasp reflex also has diagnostic significance. This grasp reflex of the hands and feet is mediated by a spinal reflex mechanism, which appears to be under the regulatory control of nonprimary motor areas through the spinal interneurons. This reflex in human infants can be regarded as a rudiment of phylogenetic function. The absence of the Moro reflex during the neonatal period and early infancy is highly diagnostic, indicating a variety of compromised conditions. The center of the reflex is probably in the lower region of the pons to the medulla. The phylogenetic meaning of the reflex remains unclear. However, the hierarchical interrelation among these primitive reflexes seems to be essential for the arboreal life of monkey newborns, and the possible role of the Moro reflex in these newborns was discussed in relation to the interrelationship.
    [Show full text]
  • Parametric Exploration of the Fear-Inhibited Light Reflex
    Psychophysiology, 42 (2005), 447–455. Blackwell Publishing Inc. Printed in the USA. Copyright r 2005 Society for Psychophysiological Research DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2005.00301.x Parametric exploration of the fear-inhibited light reflex EUGENIA HOURDAKI, STELLA G. GIAKOUMAKI, VANGELIS GRINAKIS, KATERINA THEOU, MARIA KARATARAKI, and PANOS BITSIOS Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece Abstract The effect of various parameters on the mediation of the fear-inhibited light reflex was examined. The light reflexes of 16 healthy men were measured across four light probe intensities, either in the presence of white noise alone or when the white noise was associated with the threat of either an electric shock or an acoustic sound blast. The white noise alone did not affect the light reflex amplitude. Both types of threat were subjectively anxiogenic and inhibited the light reflex across all light probe intensities, the threat of shock being more potent than the threat of sound blast. Importantly, the effect of either type of threat on the light reflex amplitude was found to increase with increasing light probe intensity, suggesting that brighter light probes may become more relevant motivationally in the threat condition, thus attracting greater allocation of attentional/cognitive resources. Descriptors: Anxiety, Conditioned fear, Anxiety models, Light reflex, Pupil, Healthy volunteers The startle reflex is a fast defensive response with the likely pur- The dynamic light reflex is a homeostatic parasympathetic reflex pose of facilitating the flight reaction and protecting the organ- and consists of a brisk and transient contraction of the smooth iris ism from a sudden threat.
    [Show full text]
  • Behavioral Analysis of Conditions and Treatments Affecting Movement and Nociception
    Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 6-21-2021 Behavioral analysis of conditions and treatments affecting movement and nociception Indu Mithra Madhuranthakam Rowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Commons Recommended Citation Madhuranthakam, Indu Mithra, "Behavioral analysis of conditions and treatments affecting movement and nociception" (2021). Theses and Dissertations. 2923. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/2923 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS OF CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS AFFECTING MOVEMENT AND NOCICEPTION by Indu Mithra Madhuranthakam A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry College of Science and Mathematics In partial fulfillment of the requirement For the degree of Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Rowan University March 26, 2021 Thesis Advisor: Thomas M Keck, Ph.D. Committee Members: Kandalam Ramanujachary, Ph.D. Subash Jonnalagadda, Ph.D. © 2021 Indu Mithra Madhuranthakam Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Thomas Keck, my thesis advisor, for guiding me throughout my research period at the Rowan University. I am also grateful to Professor Kandalam Ramanujachary and Professor Subash Jonnalagadda for being supportive and helpful and also for being my thesis Committee members. Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends, and lab mates for extending their love and support. iii Abstract Indu Mithra Madhuranthakam BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS OF CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS AFFECTING MOVEMENT AND NOCICEPTION 2019-2021 Thomas M Keck, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Prepulse Inhibition of the Auditory Startle Reflex Assessment As A
    brain sciences Review Prepulse Inhibition of the Auditory Startle Reflex Assessment as a Hallmark of Brainstem Sensorimotor Gating Mechanisms Ricardo Gómez-Nieto 1,2,3 , Sebastián Hormigo 1,4 and Dolores E. López 1,2,3,* 1 Institute of Neurosciences of Castilla y León, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain; [email protected] (R.G.-N.); sebifi[email protected] (S.H.) 2 Institute Biomedical Research of Salamanca, University Hospital of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain 3 Department of Cell Biology and Pathology, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain 4 Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 11 August 2020; Accepted: 14 September 2020; Published: 16 September 2020 Abstract: When a low-salience stimulus of any type of sensory modality—auditory, visual, tactile—immediately precedes an unexpected startle-like stimulus, such as the acoustic startle reflex, the startle motor reaction becomes less pronounced or is even abolished. This phenomenon is known as prepulse inhibition (PPI), and it provides a quantitative measure of central processing by filtering out irrelevant stimuli. As PPI implies plasticity of a reflex and is related to automatic or attentional processes, depending on the interstimulus intervals, this behavioral paradigm might be considered a potential marker of short- and long-term plasticity. Assessment of PPI is directly related to the examination of neural sensorimotor gating mechanisms, which are plastic-adaptive operations for preventing overstimulation and helping the brain to focus on a specific stimulus among other distracters. Despite their obvious importance in normal brain activity, little is known about the intimate physiology, circuitry, and neurochemistry of sensorimotor gating mechanisms.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychological Significance of Human Startle Eyeblink Modification
    Biological Psychology 47 (1998) 1–43 Review The psychological significance of human startle eyeblink modification: a review Diane L. Filion a,*, Michael E. Dawson b, Anne M. Schell c a Uni6ersity of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Occupational Therapy Edu. 3033 Robinson, 3901 Rainbow Bl6d. Kansas City KS 66160-7602, USA b Uni6ersity of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA c Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, USA Received 11 September 1996; received in revised form 18 June 1997; accepted 19 June 1997 Abstract The human startle eyeblink reflex is reliably modified by both cognitive and emotional processes. This review provides a comprehensive survey of the current literature on human startle modification and its psychological significance. Issues raised for short lead interval startle inhibition include its interpretation as a measure of protection of processing, sensori- motor gating and early attentional processing. For long lead interval effects, interpretations related to attentional and emotional processing are discussed. Also reviewed are clinical applications to information processing dysfunctions in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and to emotional processing disorders. Finally, an integrative summary that incorporates most of the cognitive findings is presented and directions for future research are identified regarding both cognitive and emotional modification of startle. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. Keywords: Human startle eyeblink; Psychological; Sensorimotor gating; Schizophrenia spec- trum disorders * Corresponding author. E-mail: dfi[email protected] 0301-0511/98/$19.00 © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII S0301-0511(97)00020-3 2 D.L. Filion et al. / Biological Psychology 47 (1998) 1–43 1. Introduction According to historical accounts of startle research by Hoffman and Ison (1980), Ison and Hoffman (1983), the fact that reflexes can be reliably modified by antecedent changes in the sensory environment was first documented in animals in the mid 1860s by Sechenov (1965).
    [Show full text]
  • Emotion-Modulated Startle Magnitude Covaries with Heart Rate Variability
    Psychophysiology, 40 (2003), 306–313. Blackwell Publishing Inc. Printed in the USA. Copyright r 2003 Society for Psychophysiological Research The rhythm of the heart in the blink of an eye: Emotion-modulated startle magnitude covaries with heart rate variability ELISABETH RUIZ-PADIAL,a JOHN J. SOLLERS, III,b JAIME VILA,c and JULIAN F. THAYERb aDepartment of Psychology, University of Jae´ n, Jae´ n, Spain bThe National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland, USA cDepartment of Clinical Psychology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain Abstract Emotion-modulated startle is a robust phenomenon that has been demonstrated in a wide range of experimental situations. Similarly, heart rate variability (HRV) has been associated with a diverse range of processes including affective and attentional regulation. The present study sought to examine the relationship between these two important measures of affective behavior. Ninety female participants viewed pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures while exposed to acoustic startle stimuli. The eyeblink startle was recorded both during the affective foregrounds and during intertrial intervals. HRV was assessed during a resting baseline and relationships between HRVand startle magnitudes examined. Results indicated that resting HRVwas inversely related to startle magnitude during both intertrial intervals and affective foregrounds. In addition, the participants with the highest HRVshowed the most differentiated emotion- modulated startle effects, whereas those with the lowest HRV, compared to those with the highest HRV, showed significantly potentiated startle to neutral foregrounds and marginally potentiated startle to pleasant foregrounds. The findings are consistent with models that posit that prefrontal cortical activity modulates subcortical motivation circuits. These results have important implications for the use of startle probe methodology and for HRV in the study of emotional regulation and dysregulation.
    [Show full text]
  • EMG-Free Monitorization of the Acoustic Startle Reflex with a Mobile Phone
    sensors Article EMG-Free Monitorization of the Acoustic Startle Reflex with a Mobile Phone: Implications of Sound Parameters with Posture Related Responses Christopher L. Gowen 1, Prashanna Khwaounjoo 1,2 and Yusuf O. Cakmak 1,2,3,4,* 1 Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University Of Otago, Po Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; [email protected] (C.L.G.); [email protected] (P.K.) 2 Medtech Core, Auckland 1010, New Zealand 3 Brain Health Research Centre, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand 4 Centre for Health Systems and Technology, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +64-03-479-4030 Received: 4 September 2020; Accepted: 14 October 2020; Published: 22 October 2020 Abstract: (1) Background: Acute acoustic (sound) stimulus prompts a state of defensive motivation in which unconscious muscle responses are markedly enhanced in humans. The orbicularis oculi (OO) of the eye is an easily accessed muscle common for acoustic startle reaction/response/reflex (ASR) investigations and is the muscle of interest in this study. Although the ASR can provide insights about numerous clinical conditions, existing methodologies (Electromyogram, EMG) limit the usability of the method in real clinical conditions. (2) Objective: With EMG-free muscle recording in mind, our primary aim was to identify and investigate potential correlations in the responses of individual and cooperative OO muscles to various acoustic stimuli using a mobile and wire-free system. Our secondary aim was to investigate potential altered responses to high and also relatively low intensity acoustics at different frequencies in both sitting and standing positions through the use of biaural sound induction and video diagnostic techniques and software.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comprehensive Analysis of Sensorimotor Mechanisms of Inter
    A comprehensive analysis of sensorimotor mechanisms of inter-leg coordination in gait using the Variable Stiffness Treadmill: Physiological insights for improved robot-assisted gait therapy Jeffrey Skidmore and Panagiotis Artemiadis∗ Abstract— Rehabilitation robotics is an emerging field in suggests that utilizing inter-limb coupling in stroke rehabil- which gait training has been largely automated allowing more itation therapies will lead to improved functional outcome intensive, repetitive motions which are important for facilitating [12]. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of underlying recovery. However, there is no clear evidence that robot- assisted gait training is superior to conventional therapy. A sensorimotor mechanisms of inter-leg coordination may fa- limitation of current approaches to gait therapy is that they cilitate improved robotic interventions in gait therapy [11]. do not consider mechanisms of inter-leg coordination and how Our previous work of investigating mechanisms of inter- the sensory feedback from one leg affects the motion of the leg coordination with healthy subjects has shown a system- other leg. Instead they impose motion on the impaired limb. atic and scalable contralateral response to unilateral stiffness Recent research suggests that utilizing the coupling between limbs in stroke rehabilitation therapies could lead to improved perturbations [13] that is dependent on the phase of the functional outcome. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of gait cycle [11]. This response has been repeatedly observed
    [Show full text]
  • A Cardiac-Cycle-Time Study on Spatial Stimulus-Response Compatibility Mauro F
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Disentangling sensorimotor and cognitive cardioaferent efects: A cardiac-cycle-time study on spatial stimulus-response compatibility Mauro F. Larra1*, Johannes B. Finke2, Edmund Wascher1 & Hartmut Schächinger2 Cardiac-cycle-time efects are attributed to variations in baroreceptor (BR) activity and have been shown to impinge on subcortical as well as cortical processes. However, cognitive and sensorimotor processes mediating voluntary responses seem to be diferentially afected. We sought to disentangle cardiac-cycle-time efects on subcortical and cortical levels as well as sensorimotor and cognitive processes within a spatial stimulus-response-compatibility paradigm employing startling stimuli of diferent modalities. Air-pufs and white noise-bursts were presented unilaterally during either cardiac systole or diastole while bilateral startle EMG responses were recorded. Modality, laterality and cardiac- cycle-time were randomly varied within-subjects. Cognitive and sensorimotor stimulus-response- compatibility was orthogonally varied between-subjects: Participants (N = 80) responded to the stimuli via left/right button-push made with either the contra- or ipsilateral hand (sensorimotor compatibility) on either the ipsi- or contralateral button (cognitive compatibility). We found that sensorimotor compatible reactions were speeded during systole whereas sensorimotor incompatible ones were prolonged. This efect was independent of cognitive compatibility and restricted to auditory stimuli. Startle was inhibited during systole irrespective of modality or compatibility. Our results demonstrate how diferential cardiac-cycle-time efects infuence performance in confict tasks and further suggest that stimulus-response-compatibility paradigms ofer a viable method to uncover the complex interactions underlying behavioral BR efects. Te ability to fexibly adapt our behavior according to changes in bodily states is crucial to survival, promoting adequate actions e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Startle Reactivity and Anxiety Disorders: Aversive Conditioning, Context, and Neurobiology
    Startle Reactivity and Anxiety Disorders: Aversive Conditioning, Context, and Neurobiology Christian Grillon The aim of this article is to review studies on human apprehensive anticipation of future potential threats (Bar- anxiety using the startle reflex methodology and to apply low 2000). Recent animal studies have identified separate the literature on context conditioning in rats to interpret neural systems that may be associated with these two the results. A distinction is made between cued fear (as in aversive states, the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the specific phobia), a phasic response to an explicit threat stria terminalis (BNST) (Davis 1998). The amygdala cue, and anxiety, a more sustained and future-oriented mediates fear responses to explicit threatening stimuli. The response not linked to a specific discrete cue. Experimen- bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is an area adjacent to the tally, contextual fear, as opposed to cued fear, may best reflect the feeling of aversive expectation about potential amygdala that may play a role in chronic stress associated future dangers that characterizes anxiety. Following a with more long-lasting aversive states not clearly linked to brief description of the neurobiology of cued fear and an explicit cue (Davis 1998). The objective of this review context conditioning, evidence is presented showing that is to examine the relevance of these findings to human anxious patients are overly sensitive to threatening con- anxiety and anxiety disorders. texts. It is then argued that the degree to which contextual There are several animal models to explore aversive fear is prompted by threat depends on whether the danger responses.
    [Show full text]
  • The Benzodiazepine Alprazolam Dissociates Contextual Fear from Cued Fear in Humans As Assessed by Fear-Potentiated Startle Christian Grillon, Johanna M.P
    The Benzodiazepine Alprazolam Dissociates Contextual Fear from Cued Fear in Humans as Assessed by Fear-potentiated Startle Christian Grillon, Johanna M.P. Baas, Daniel S. Pine, Shmuel Lissek, Megan Lawley, Valerie Ellis, and Jessica Levine Background: The startle reflex is potentiated by aversive states. It has been proposed that phasic startle potentiation to a threat cue and sustained startle potentiation to contextual stimuli reflect distinct processes mediated by different brain structures. The present study tested the hypothesis that alprazolam would reduce the sustained startle potentiation to contextual threats but not the startle potentiation to a threat cue. Methods: Sixteen healthy subjects received each of four treatments: placebo, .5 mg of alprazolam, 1 mg of alprazolam, and 50 mg of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) in a crossover design. Participants were exposed to three conditions, including one in which predictable aversive shocks were signaled by a cue, a second in which shocks were administered unpredictably, and a third condition in which no shocks were anticipated. Acoustic startle were delivered regularly across conditions. Results: Phasic startle potentiation to the threat cue in the predictable condition was not affected by alprazolam. In contrast, the sustained increase in startle in the predictable and unpredictable conditions was reduced significantly by the high dose of alprazolam. Conclusions: Startle responses to an explicit threat cue and to an aversive context are psychopharmacologically distinct, suggesting that they may represent functionally dissociable aversive states. Key Words: Alprazolam, anxiety, benzodiazepine, context, fear, 1997a). It was suggested further that the two aversive states startle reflex mediated by the CeA and the BNST in rodents were reminiscent of fear and anxiety states in humans, respectively (Davis 1998).
    [Show full text]