Motor Learning & Neural Plasticity in Vestibular System

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) stabilizes gaze and hence foveal images during head movements. Deficits in the VOR resulting from disease or changes in development can severely impair vision. Neural adaptation in the VOR is essential to overcome these deficits. Over the past several decades, the investigation of the VOR and its adaptation has been focused on the contributions of brainstem and cerebellar pathways. The contributions of cerebral cortex in the VOR, however, remain largely unexplored. Recent studies have demonstrated that the frontal eye field (FEF) has direct projections to brainstem VOR pathways and neurons in the subregion of the FEF linked to smooth eye movements (FEFsem) exhibit activity related to both eye movements and head movements, suggesting an important role for the FEFsem in the VOR. The objective of the proposed research is to employ single unit recording and chemical lesion approaches to study the contributions of the FEFsem in the generation and adaptation of the VOR. The first aim is to use single unit recording techniques to quantitatively analyze how the FEFsem neurons encode head motion in monkeys. Recently, we have developed a paradigm that induces robust short-term and long-term plasticity in the VOR that compensates for translational head movements (TVOR). A novel feature of the paradigm is that these behavioral changes are not guided by visual information but by the spatial context of the task, i.e. whether the target is stationary in space or fixed relative to the head. The second aim is to take advantage of this paradigm to study the role of the FEFsem neurons in the generation of the TVOR. This experiment will provide greater understanding of the FEFsem in the information processing related to the task context and in the voluntary control and adaptation of the TVOR. The third aim is to assess the functional significance of the FEFsem by reversibly inactivating the FEFsem and studying its effect on the generation and adaptation of the TVOR. This research will provide important knowledge for understanding the fundamental vestibular and oculomotor neurophysiology and improving the diagnosis and treatment of vestibular disorders in humans.