Vestibular-visual-proprioceptive brain networks in self-motion perception: critical tests of the dual pathway theory

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Anton L. Beer; Professor Dr. Mark Greenlee
• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 409032223

Self-motion perception describes the sensation of head or body movements in space. It is one of the most important perceptual systems in humans and animals alike. Without it, effective navigation through space would not be feasible. Self-motion perception is based on the multisensory integration of vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive signals. Previous research has shown that self-motion perception relies on a relatively large network of cortical and subcortical brain regions that interact with each other. Recently, several models primarily based on animal studies suggested that these distributed brain regions are likely organized along two brainstem-cortical pathways: The posterior-lateral pathway projecting from the vestibular nuclei (VN) via the ventral posterior lateral (VPL) nucleus of the thalamus to brain areas in the lateral cortex and the anterior-medial pathway projecting from the VN via anterior thalamic divisions to the medial cortex. In recent years, several research groups (including the group of the PIs) have successfully characterized the nodes and interactions of the posterior-lateral network in both animals and humans. By contrast, the anterior-medial network is still only poorly understood. In fact, even some relevant brain regions (e.g., the vestibular pericallosal sulcus) of this network have not been identified until recently. Therefore, this brain imaging project aims to investigate the anterior-medial system of self-motion perception and to compare it with the posterior-lateral system. Based on previous research, we tentatively hypothesize that the anterior-medial system is strongly involved in spatial navigation, heading, and locomotion. We further expect that activation within this network is strongly affected by proprioceptive signals (e.g., of the neck muscles). We expect that this system is particularly vulnerable to mechanisms of aging that are associated with (sub-clinical) vestibular-visual impairments. By contrast, we assume that it is less involved in motion sickness than the posterior-lateral system. The project builds on our prior work that has led to several important discoveries concerning the neural basis of self-motion perception in humans. Moreover, it will extend our current knowledge by investigating the dissociation of two cortical vestibular-visual pathways.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants