TY - JOUR
T1 - Functional near-infrared spectroscopy during optic flow with and without fixation
AU - Hoppes, Carrie W.
AU - Sparto, Patrick J.
AU - Whitney, Susan L.
AU - Furman, Joseph M.
AU - Huppert, Theodore J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.
PY - 2018/3
Y1 - 2018/3
N2 - Background and purpose Individuals with visual vertigo describe symptoms of dizziness, disorientation, and/or impaired balance in environments with conflicting visual and vestibular information or complex visual stimuli. Physical therapists often prescribe habituation exercises using optic flow to treat these symptoms, but there are no evidence-based guidelines for delivering optic flow and it is unclear how the brain processes such stimuli. The purposes of this study were to use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore cerebral activation during optic flow, and determine if visual fixation had a modulating effect on brain activity. Methods Fifteen healthy participants (7 males and 8 females; mean age 41 years old) stood in a virtual reality environment and viewed optic flow moving unidirectionally in the yaw plane with and without fixation. Changes in cerebral activation were recorded from the bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal and occipital lobes using fNIRS. Results Cerebral activation was greater with visual motion than while viewing a stationary scene. Greater cerebral activation in the bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal lobes was observed when optic flow was viewed with fixation. Discussion and conclusions Optic flow activates the bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal regions of the cerebral cortex. This activation is greater while viewing optic flow and a fixation target, providing preliminary evidence supporting the use of a fixation target during habituation exercises.
AB - Background and purpose Individuals with visual vertigo describe symptoms of dizziness, disorientation, and/or impaired balance in environments with conflicting visual and vestibular information or complex visual stimuli. Physical therapists often prescribe habituation exercises using optic flow to treat these symptoms, but there are no evidence-based guidelines for delivering optic flow and it is unclear how the brain processes such stimuli. The purposes of this study were to use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore cerebral activation during optic flow, and determine if visual fixation had a modulating effect on brain activity. Methods Fifteen healthy participants (7 males and 8 females; mean age 41 years old) stood in a virtual reality environment and viewed optic flow moving unidirectionally in the yaw plane with and without fixation. Changes in cerebral activation were recorded from the bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal and occipital lobes using fNIRS. Results Cerebral activation was greater with visual motion than while viewing a stationary scene. Greater cerebral activation in the bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal lobes was observed when optic flow was viewed with fixation. Discussion and conclusions Optic flow activates the bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal regions of the cerebral cortex. This activation is greater while viewing optic flow and a fixation target, providing preliminary evidence supporting the use of a fixation target during habituation exercises.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85043295209
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0193710
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0193710
M3 - Article
C2 - 29513720
AN - SCOPUS:85043295209
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 13
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 3
M1 - e0193710
ER -