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Summary: Inertial vestibular coding of motion: concepts and evidence
Bernhard JM Hess* and Dora E Angelakit
Central processing of inertial sensory information about head
attitude and motion in space is crucial for motor control.
Vestibular signals are coded relative to a non-inertial system,
the head, that is virtually continuously in motion. Evidence
for transformation of vestibular signals from head-fixed
sensory coordinates to gravity-centered coordinates have
been provided by studies of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. The
underlying central processing depends on otolith afferent
information that needs to be resolved in terms of head
translation related inertial forces and head attitude dependent
pull of gravity. Theoretical solutions have been suggested, but
experimental evidence is still scarce. It appears, along these
lines, that gaze control systems are intimately linked to motor
control of head attitude and posture.
Addresses
*Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, CH-8091,
Zurich, Switzerland; e-mail: bhess@neurol.unizh.ch
+Department of Surgery, University of Mississippi Medical Center,
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