Abstract
ObjectiveTo investigate whether gaze stabilization exercises (GSEs) improve eye and head movements and whether low-frequency cerebellar repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) inhibits GSE trainability.Methods25 healthy adults (real rTMS, n = 12; sham rTMS, n = 13) were recruited. Real or sham rTMS was performed for 15 min (1 Hz, 900 stimulations). The center of the butterfly coil was set 1 cm below the inion in the real rTMS. Following stimulation, 10 trials of 1 min of a GSE were conducted at 1 min intervals. In the GSE, the subjects were instructed to stand upright and horizontally rotate their heads according to a beeping sound corresponding to 2 Hz and with a gaze point ahead of them. Electrooculograms were used to estimate the horizontal gaze direction of the right eye, and gyroscopic measurements were performed to estimate the horizontal head angular velocity during the GSE trials. The percentage change from the first trial of motion range of the eye and head was calculated for each measurement. The percent change of the eye/head range ratio was calculated to assess the synchronous changes of the eye and head movements as the exercise increased.ResultsBayesian two-way analysis of variance showed that cerebellar rTMS affected the eye motion range and eye/head range ratio. A post hoc comparison (Bayesian t-test) showed evidence that the eye motion range and eye/head range ratio were reduced in the fifth, sixth, and seventh trials compared with the first trial sham stimulation condition.ConclusionsGSEs can modulate eye movements with respect to head movements, and the cerebellum may be associated with eye–head coordination trainability for dynamic gazing during head movements.
Highlights
Eye and head movements are necessary for accurate visual cognition in daily life [1] because the visual target image on the retina changes with head movements [2]
Bayesian two-way analysis of variance showed that cerebellar repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) affected the eye motion range and eye/head range ratio
gaze stabilization exercises (GSEs) can modulate eye movements with respect to head movements, and the cerebellum may be associated with eye–head coordination trainability for dynamic gazing during head movements
Summary
Eye and head movements are necessary for accurate visual cognition in daily life [1] because the visual target image on the retina changes with head movements [2]. A low accuracy of detection of visual targets during head movements impacts daily living [3]. This accuracy, known as the dynamic gaze ability, can be improved by gaze stabilization exercises (GSEs) in healthy individuals [4]. It was hypothesized that eye and head movements can be changed in the second and subsequent GSE compared to the first 1 min GSE. It is unclear whether GSEs improve eye and head movements during training in young adults. The aim of this study was to investigate improvements in eye and head movements during GSE training
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