Symptom reduction in mal de débarquement syndrome with attenuation of the velocity storage contribution in the central vestibular pathways.

Background: The velocity storage mechanism of the central vestibular system is closely associated with the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), but also contributes to the sense of orientation in space and the perception of self-motion. We postulate that mal de débarquement syndrome (MdDS) is a consequence of inappropriate sensory adaptation of velocity storage. The premise that a maladapted velocity storage may be corrected by spatial readaptation of the VOR has recently been translated into the development of the first effective treatment for MdDS.

Treatment of Gravitational Pulling Sensation in Patients With Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS): A Model-Based Approach.

Perception of the spatial vertical is important for maintaining and stabilizing vertical posture during body motion. The velocity storage pathway of vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), which integrates vestibular, optokinetic, and proprioception in the vestibular nuclei vestibular-only (VO) neurons, has spatio-temporal properties that are defined by eigenvalues and eigenvectors of its system matrix. The yaw, pitch and roll eigenvectors are normally aligned with the spatial vertical and corresponding head axes.

Predicting Vasovagal Responses: A Model-Based and Machine Learning Approach.

Vasovagal syncope () or neurogenically induced fainting has resulted in falls, fractures, and death. Methods to deal with are to use implanted pacemakers or beta blockers. These are often ineffective because the underlying changes in the cardiovascular system that lead to the syncope are incompletely understood and diagnosis of frequent occurrences of is still based on history and a tilt test, in which subjects are passively tilted from a supine position to 20° from the spatial vertical (to a 70° position) on the tilt table and maintained in that orientation for 10-15 min.

Vestibular, locomotor, and vestibulo-autonomic research: 50 years of collaboration with Bernard Cohen.

My collaboration on the vestibulo-ocular reflex with Bernard Cohen began in 1972. Until 2017, this collaboration included studies of saccades, quick phases of nystagmus, the introduction of the concept of velocity storage, the relationship of velocity storage to motion sickness, primate and human locomotion, and studies of vasovagal syncope. These studies have elucidated the functioning of the vestibuloocular reflex, the locomotor system, the functioning of the vestibulo-sympathetic reflex, and how blood pressure and heart rate are controlled by the vestibular system.

Modeling Interval Timing by Recurrent Neural Nets.

The purpose of this study was to take a new approach in showing how the central nervous system might encode time at the supra-second level using recurrent neural nets (RNNs). This approach utilizes units with a delayed feedback, whose feedback weight determines the temporal properties of specific neurons in the network architecture. When these feedback neurons are coupled, they form a multilayered dynamical system that can be used to model temporal responses to steps of input in multidimensional systems.