CERVICAL INFLUENCES ON BALANCE

描述(申请人提供)：前庭、本体感觉和视觉 输入由中枢神经系统整合，以产生适当的 眼球运动和姿势反应。颈部传入神经提供了独特的 启用来自视觉和前庭的头部参考信号的信息 要转换为干线参考信号的系统。许多患者患有 平衡障碍注意到他们头晕的恶化和 脖子不适。这种联系的基础尚不清楚。长期的 这项研究的目的是开发一种合理的方法来诊断 颈源性眩晕及其对颈椎影响的评估 前庭功能紊乱。这个探索性的三个具体目标中的每一个 研究建议与提高我们对宫颈影响的理解有关 权衡一下。特别是，这里提出的实验的目标是 生成有关宫颈影响的客观测量的可测试假设 关于前庭-眼睛和前庭-脊髓反应，以及关于视觉诱导 姿势摇摆。这项提案的具体目的是探索三种不同的 颈椎对平衡的影响方面：1.侧滚对躯干头部的影响 列表平面相对于头部的方向上的位置， 2.偏航头对躯干位置对体位摆动的影响 正弦耳间前庭电流刺激，以及3.正弦耳间电流刺激的影响 鼻枕部视神经诱发体位摆动时的头躯体偏位 流。为了达到第一个具体目标，三维眼睛的位置将是 在使用双巩膜的头部和躯干滚动倾斜的各种组合期间进行监测 搜索线圈。为了解决具体目标#2，姿势摇摆由 几次偏航期间的正弦、双极、双耳前庭电刺激 将测量头部与躯干的位置。解决具体目标#3，姿势 将测量的摇摆响应于鼻枕部内的光流虚拟 现实环境中的几个偏航迎头躯干的位置。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Vestibular, proprioceptive and visual inputs are integrated by the central nervous system to produce appropriate ocular motor and postural responses. Cervical afferents provide unique information that enable head-referenced signals from the visual and vestibular systems to be transformed into trunk-referenced signals. Many patients with balance disorders note an association between a worsening of their dizziness and neck discomfort. The basis for this association is unknown. The long-term objective of this research is to develop a rational approach to the diagnosis of cervicogenic dizziness and to the assessment of cervical influences on vestibular disorders. Each of the three specific aims of this exploratory research proposal relates to improving our understanding of cervical influences on balance. In particular, the goal of the experiments proposed herein is to generate testable hypotheses regarding objective measures of cervical influences on vestibulo-ocular and vestibular-spinal responses, and on visually induced postural sway. The specific aims of this proposal are to explore three different aspects of the cervical influences on balance: 1. The influence of roll head-on-trunk position on the orientation of Listing's plane with respect to the head, 2. The influence of yaw head-on-trunk position on postural sway induced by sinusoidal interaural galvanic vestibular stimulation, and 3. The influence of yaw head-on-trunk position on postural sway induced by naso-occipital optic flow. To address specific aim #1, three-dimensional eye positions will be monitored during various combinations of head and trunk roll tilt using dual-scleral search coils. To address specific aim #2, postural sway induced by sinusoidal, bipolar, binaural galvanic vestibular stimulation during several yaw head-on-trunk positions will be measured. To address specific aim #3, postural sway will be measured in response to naso-occipital optic flow within a virtual reality environment during several yaw head-on-trunk positions.