Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026
08:12
Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
Published on: September 11, 2019
Representation of visual gravitational motion in the human vestibular cortex
Iole Indovina1, Vincenzo Maffei, Gianfranco Bosco
1Department of Neuromotor Physiology, Scientific Institute Foundation Santa Lucia, via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 16, 2005
Summary
The brain uses an internal model to predict gravity's effect on visual motion. This model, stored in the vestibular cortex, activates when visual acceleration matches natural gravity, showing predictive coding of motion laws.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Perception
- Physics
Background:
- Human vision has limited sensitivity to acceleration.
- Understanding how the brain integrates visual and graviceptive information is crucial for motion perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the brain perceives visual motion under gravitational acceleration.
- To test the hypothesis of an internal gravity model in the brain.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
- The acceleration of visual targets was experimentally manipulated.
- Brain responses were analyzed based on consistency with natural gravity.
Main Results:
- The vestibular network showed selective engagement when visual acceleration was consistent with natural gravity.
- This activation pattern supports the internal model hypothesis.
- Predictive coding mechanisms for physical laws of motion are evident in the brain.
Conclusions:
- The brain utilizes an internal model, informed by graviceptive input, to interpret visual motion under gravity.
- This predictive mechanism is localized within the vestibular cortex.
- Findings highlight the brain's capacity to represent and predict physical laws like gravity.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:05Static and Kinetic Frictional Force
One of the simpler characteristics of sliding friction is that it is parallel to the contact surfaces between systems, and is always in a direction that opposes the motion or attempted motion of the systems relative to each other. If two systems are in contact and moving relative to one another, then the friction between them is called kinetic friction. For example, kinetic friction slows a hockey puck sliding on ice.
However, if two systems are in contact and are stationary relative to one...
However, if two systems are in contact and are stationary relative to one...
01:28Apparent Weight and the Earth's Rotation
Since all objects on the Earth's surface move through a circle every 24 hours, there must be a net centripetal force on each object, directed towards the center of that circle. The points of the north and south poles are the only exception to this rule.
For an object on the Earth's equator, the net centripetal force that accounts for its rotation is the Earth's pull towards its center, or the weight minus the normal force that prevents it from piercing into the Earth's surface. This force,...
For an object on the Earth's equator, the net centripetal force that accounts for its rotation is the Earth's pull towards its center, or the weight minus the normal force that prevents it from piercing into the Earth's surface. This force,...
01:16Sensory Functions of the Skin
The skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays a crucial role in our sensory perception. It contains a vast network of sensory receptors that contribute to the skin's protective function by perceiving physical, biological, and environmental cues and generating relevant responses.
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
01:26Kinetic Friction
Consider a truck trying to pull a stationary car. As the truck exerts a force on the car, static friction is created at the point of contact between the two surfaces. This frictional force resists the car's movement and keeps it at rest. However, when the applied force by the truck surpasses the limiting static frictional force, an interesting phenomenon occurs. The frictional force at the interface reduces to a lower value, known as the kinetic frictional force. At this point, the car begins...
01:28Frictional Forces on Flat Belts
Flat belts are commonly used in various industrial applications for transmitting power from one pulley to another. When a flat belt is wrapped around a set of pulleys, it experiences different tensions at the driving pulley ends due to the friction between the belt and pulley surface. When the pulley moves in a counterclockwise direction, the tension T2 on the opposite side of the pulley where the belt is moving away from is higher than the tension T1 on the side where the belt is moving...
01:20Muscles of the Eye
The muscles of the eye are sophisticated structures that control eye movement and focus, allowing for the precise and rapid adjustments necessary for vision. The human eye is controlled by ten muscles — six extraocular muscles, three intraocular muscles, and one primary eyelid retractor muscle.
Extraocular Muscles
The six extraocular muscles surround the eyeball and control its movements. They are responsible for a wide range of eye motions, including looking up, down, left, right, and rotating...
Extraocular Muscles
The six extraocular muscles surround the eyeball and control its movements. They are responsible for a wide range of eye motions, including looking up, down, left, right, and rotating...