Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025
06:31
Estimating Vestibular Perceptual Thresholds Using a Six-Degree-Of-Freedom Motion Platform
Published on: August 4, 2022
3.1K
Age-dependent vestibular cingulate-cerebral network underlying gravitational perception: a cross-sectional multimodal
Tritan J Plute1, Dennis D Spencer2, Rafeed Alkawadri3,4
1School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, 3471 Fifth Avenue, LKB 8Th Floor, Suite 815.05, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Brain Informatics
|December 21, 2022
Summary
Electrical stimulation of the cingulate gyrus (CG) can induce a unique sensation of weightlessness. This finding reveals novel insights into the brain networks governing gravity perception and offers potential for new neuromodulatory treatments.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Neurology
Background:
- The cingulate gyrus (CG) plays a role in cognitive-emotional functions and various symptoms.
- Its precise role in sensory perception, particularly gravity, remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional networks of the cingulate gyrus (CG) associated with an unusual loss of gravity perception.
- To explore the effects of electrical cortical stimulation (ECS) on CG and related sensory experiences.
Main Methods:
- Utilized intracranial EEG (icEEG), Granger causality analysis, cortico-cortical evoked potentials, and fMRI.
- Performed ECS on anterior, middle, and posterior CG regions in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.
- Analyzed functional connectivity and network robustness.
Main Results:
- Electrical stimulation of anterior and posterior CG induced a subjective sense of weightlessness/floating in 30% of cases.
- Identified functional connections between the insula, CG, frontal and temporal lobes, and cerebellum.
- Demonstrated a positive correlation between cingulate functional connectivity, age, and Granger connectivity (r=0.82, p=0.0035).
Conclusions:
- Proposes a vestibular-cerebral-cingulate network involved in gravity perception.
- Suggests cingulate functional connectivity develops over time.
- Highlights potential for neuromodulatory clinical applications based on understanding these networks.
Related Concept Videos
01:29The Vestibular System
40.0K
The vestibular system is a set of inner ear structures that provide a sense of balance and spatial orientation. This system is comprised of structures within the labyrinth of the inner ear, including the cochlea and two otolith organs—the utricle and saccule. The labyrinth also contains three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—that are oriented on different planes.
40.0K
01:15Equilibrium and Balance
4.9K
The inner ear assumes dual functionalities of auditory perception and equilibrium maintenance. The vestibule is the organ responsible for balance. This organ contains mechanoreceptors, specifically hair cells, endowed with stereocilia, which aid in deciphering information regarding the position and motion of our heads. Two intrinsic components, the utricle and saccule, help perceive head position, while the semicircular canals track head movement. Neurological messages initiated in the...
4.9K
01:28Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
1.1K
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the...
1.1K
01:15Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
812
Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
812
01:22Indirect Motor Pathways
1.6K
The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
1.6K
01:17Auditory Perception
415
The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the...
415