Learning to use vestibular sense for spatial updating is context dependent

Isabelle Mackrous,Jérôme Carriot,Martin Simoneau

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-47675-7

Abstract

As we move, perceptual stability is crucial to successfully interact with our environment. Notably, the brain must update the locations of objects in space using extra-retinal signals. The vestibular system is a strong candidate as a source of information for spatial updating as it senses head motion. The ability to use this cue is not innate but must be learned. To date, the mechanisms of vestibular spatial updating generalization are unknown or at least controversial. In this paper we examine generalization patterns within and between different conditions of vestibular spatial updating. Participants were asked to update the position of a remembered target following (offline) or during (online) passive body rotation. After being trained on a single spatial target position within a given task, we tested generalization of performance for different spatial targets and an unpracticed spatial updating task. The results demonstrated different patterns of generalization across the workspace depending on the task. Further, no transfer was observed from the practiced to the unpracticed task. We found that the type of mechanism involved during learning governs generalization. These findings provide new knowledge about how the brain uses vestibular information to preserve its spatial updating ability.

Highlights

One remarkable achievement of the brain is its ability to preserve a stable perception of the environment as we move
The mechanism that processes vestibular inputs to update the retinotopic map during head movement is not fully understood
Previous experiments have shown that the brain fails to accurately reconstruct the position of a visual target following passive body rotation in darkness[5,10]

Summary

Introduction

One remarkable achievement of the brain is its ability to preserve a stable perception of the environment as we move. The recovery of performance when participants learn to use vestibular inputs suggests that the brain can maintain spatial accuracy by changing its sensory cues to update spatial information. The ability of the brain to learn to use vestibular input to maintain optimized spatial updating performance was robustly found in different contexts of a spatial updating task[7,8,11,12] (i.e., when spatial information needed to be updated during or following motion) using different types of responses. Vestibular integration could be processed differently regardless of whether the updating of the visual space needs to be realized during (online) or after (offline) body motion Such conditions put different time constraints on the sensory integration mechanisms, which could limit generalization of vestibular spatial updating. These results shed new light on the processes that the brain undertakes when changing its sensory inputs in general, and on the brain’s use of vestibular signals to perform spatial updating

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Discussion

Conclusion