NONLINEAR MODEL OF HIPPOCAMPUS

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The importance of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) for stabilizing vision during active movements is generally unrecognized, until pathology impairs VOR performance sufficiently to interfere with dynamic visual acuity. We have developed VOR modeling techniques that allow clinicians to evaluate patients VOR function objectively. During the past year, we extended these modeling techniques to include objective monitoring during therapy. We introduced a new measure of "super performance" based on athletes' abilities to improve their dynamic visual acuity through exercise therapy. By modeling their VORs during therapy, we are able to monitor and predict improvements in dynamic visual acuity during athletic performance. Mild head injury during sports performance often shows up as decreased visual stabilization by the VOR. Two professional football tams are currently being tested with our modeling techniques. In addition, the University of Virginia conducted a study of 100 athletes, using our VOR modeling techniques. A doctoral thesis in Exercise Physiology at that university is based on re-testing the VORs of a subset of these athletes after mild head injury. We extended our analysis of the broad-band characteristics of the VOR to studies of human subjects during walking/running. The preliminary results describe an important new role for lower-frequency channels of the VOR, that we anticipate will lead to focused therapy for preventing falls in the elderly.