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    Vestibular modulation of spatial perception

    Ferrè, E.R. and Longo, Matthew R. and Fiori, F. and Haggard, P. (2013) Vestibular modulation of spatial perception. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7 , 00660. ISSN 1662-5161.

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    Abstract

    Vestibular inputs make a key contribution to the own sense of spatial location. While the effects of vestibular stimulation on visuo-spatial processing in neurological patients have been extensively described, the normal contribution of vestibular inputs to spatial perception remains unclear. To address this issue, we used a line bisection task to investigate the effects of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) on spatial perception, and on the transition between near and far space. Brief left-anodal and right-cathodal GVS or right-anodal and left-cathodal GVS were delivered. A sham stimulation condition was included. Participants bisected lines of different lengths at six distances from the body using a laser pointer. Consistent with previous results, our data showed an overall left to right shift in bisection bias as a function of viewing distance: suggestive of a leftward bias in near space, and a rightward bias in far space. GVS induced strong polarity dependent effects in spatial perception, broadly consistent with those previously reported in patients: left-anodal and right-cathodal GVS induced a leftward bisection bias, while right-anodal and left-cathodal GVS reversed this effect, producing instead a bisection bias toward the right side of the space. Interestingly, the effects of GVS were comparable in near and far space. We speculate that vestibular-induced biases in space perception may optimize gathering of information from different parts of the environment.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): galvanic vestibular stimulation, line bisection, Space Perception, Unilateral spatial neglect, vestibular system
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Brain and Cognitive Development, Centre for (CBCD)
    Depositing User: Matthew Longo
    Date Deposited: 02 Oct 2013 08:08
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:07
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/8222

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