Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane
Published on: August 22, 2025
Antero-Posterior vs. Lateral Vestibular Input Processing in Human Visual Cortex
Felipe Aedo-Jury1,2, Benoit R Cottereau1,2, Simona Celebrini1,2
1Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université Touloue III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Abstract:
Visuo-vestibular integration is crucial for locomotion, yet the cortical mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. We combined binaural monopolar galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize the cortical networks activated during antero-posterior and lateral stimulations in humans. We focused on functional areas that selectively respond to egomotion-consistent optic flow patterns: the human middle temporal complex (hMT+), V6, the ventral intraparietal (VIP) area, the cingulate sulcus visual (CSv) area and the posterior insular cortex (PIC). Areas hMT+, CSv, and PIC were equivalently responsive during lateral and antero-posterior GVS while areas VIP and V6 were highly activated during antero-posterior GVS, but remained silent during lateral GVS. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses, we confirmed that a cortical network including areas V6 and VIP is engaged during antero-posterior GVS. Our results suggest that V6 and VIP play a specific role in processing multisensory signals specific to locomotion during navigation.
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