Premium
Estimating the Time Constants of the rVOR
Author(s) -
Ramat S.,
Bertolini G.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.03855.x
Subject(s) - vestibular system , time constant , semicircular canal , reflex , constant (computer programming) , vestibulo–ocular reflex , physics , vestibular nuclei , anatomy , chinchilla , neuroscience , audiology , biology , computer science , medicine , engineering , electrical engineering , programming language
Single‐unit recordings of vestibular afferents from the semicircular canals of squirrel monkeys have shown that the cupular time constant ( T c ) is between 5 and 6 sec. Such recordings obviously cannot be performed in humans, and the corresponding values have thus been inferred to be somewhat longer based on their size and on the cupula‐endolymph system. The ocular motor response of the rotational vestibulo‐ocular reflex (rVOR) is characterized by longer time constants, typically between 15 and 20 sec, due to the so‐called velocity storage mechanism (VSM), which prolongs the time constant of the afferents through central processing. Recent studies have attempted to determine the time constant of the cupula by fitting the slow phase velocity (SPV) of the response to postrotational stimuli using a mathematical model of the rVOR processing. To this goal they considered the processing of head velocity due to the peripheral vestibular organs and to the VSM. The resulting estimates of T c are lower than expected, averaging about 4 sec. These modeling approaches, though, neglect both the processing of the final common pathway and the adaptation shown by the discharge of primary vestibular afferents. Here we argue that such an approach may be bound to underestimate the duration of the rVOR time constants.