Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2020 Jun 1. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, USA.

The modern domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) provides an excellent model to examine the effects of cranial modification. Extreme variation in skull length among dog breeds due to high levels of selective breeding is known to be linked to disorders of the head and neck. Such alteration may also influence sensory organs including those of the vestibular system (VS), one of the most fundamental sense organs, essential in maintaining balance. Read More

Commun Biol 2020 May 8;3(1):227. Epub 2020 May 8.

Department of Physiology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.

The vestibular system, which is essential for maintaining balance, contributes to the sympathetic response. Although this response is involved in hypergravity load-induced hypothermia in mice, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. This study showed that hypergravity (2g) decreased plasma catecholamines, which resulted in hypoactivity of the interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT). Read More

PLoS One 2020 29;15(4):e0232417. Epub 2020 Apr 29.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Musculoskeletal Research Center, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.

Purpose: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a three-dimensional spinal structural deformity that occurs in otherwise normal individuals. Although curve progression and severity vary amongst individuals, AIS can lead to significant cosmetic and functional deformity. AIS etiology has been determined to be genetic, however, exact genetic and biological processes underlying this disorder remain unknown. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 May 20;117(19):10422-10428. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FE Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Major evolutionary transitions, in which animals develop new body plans and adapt to dramatically new habitats and lifestyles, have punctuated the history of life. The origin of cetaceans from land-living mammals is among the most famous of these events. Much earlier, during the Mesozoic Era, many reptile groups also moved from land to water, but these transitions are more poorly understood. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2020 Apr;99(16):e19835

Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences, Dankook University.

Rationale: Pusher syndrome is a disorder of postural control. It is associated with unilateral lesions on central vestibular system. In the current study, we attempted to identify and investigate neural connectivity of the parieto-insular vestibular cortex in a patient with pusher syndrome, using diffusion tensor imaging. Read More

Elife 2020 Mar 3;9. Epub 2020 Mar 3.

Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.

Phylogenetic relationships among extinct hominoids (apes and humans) are controversial due to pervasive homoplasy and the incompleteness of the fossil record. The bony labyrinth might contribute to this debate, as it displays strong phylogenetic signal among other mammals. However, the potential of the vestibular apparatus for phylogenetic reconstruction among fossil apes remains understudied. Read More

Heliyon 2020 Feb 20;6(2):e03435. Epub 2020 Feb 20.

Pediatric Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing Universitas, Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjtio Hospital, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia.

Background: The survival of anorectal malformation (ARM) patients has been improved in the last 10 years because of the improvement in management of neonatal care and surgical approaches for ARM patients. Thus, the current management of ARM patients are focusing on the functional outcomes after definitive surgery. Here, we defined the type of ARM and assessed the functional outcomes, including voluntary bowel movement (VBM), soiling, and constipation, in our patients following definitive surgery using Krickenbeck classification. Read More

Lin Chung Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi 2020 Feb;34(2):186-189

Vertical nystagmus is a vertical nystagmus caused by structural abnormalities and/or dysfunction of the central vestibular system and observed in situ in the center of the eyeball. There are two kinds of nystagmus （UBN） and downbeat nystagmus （DBN） according to the direction of nystagmus. The diagnosis of UBN is mainly made by naked eye or electronystagmography/viewer. Read More

Anat Sci Int 2020 Jun 15;95(3):374-380. Epub 2020 Feb 15.

Laboratory of Applied Morphology (LEMA), Universidade Federal Do Espirito Santo, Marechal Campos Avenue, 1468, Maruipe, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, 29043-900, Brazil.

Hearing or/and balance impairments may be caused by disorders of the labyrinthine artery (LA) and their branches. Most findings regarding the LA anatomy have been acquired through investigation of the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) in animal or adult human specimens. Eighty-eight CPAs and LAs of human fetuses were investigated using angio-techniques and microdissections. Read More

Audiol Neurootol 2020 7;25(1-2):42-49. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Otorhinolaryngology Department, University of Navarra Clinic, Pamplona, Spain.

Background: Histological study of vestibular end organs has been challenging due to the difficulty in preserving their structures for histological analysis and due to their complex geometry. Recently, radiology advances have allowed to deepen the study of the membranous labyrinth.

Summary: A review and analysis of surgical implications related to the anatomy of the vestibular end organ is performed. Read More

Hear Res 2020 Feb 17;386:107860. Epub 2019 Dec 17.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea; The Airway Mucus Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Purinergic receptors protect the cochlea during high-intensity stimulation by providing a parallel shunt pathway through non-sensory neighboring epithelial cells for cation absorption. So far, there is no direct functional evidence for the presence and type/subunit of purinergic receptors in the utricle of the vestibular labyrinth. The goal of the present study was to investigate which purinergic receptors are expressed and carry cation-absorption currents in the utricular transitional cells and macula. Read More

Radiology 2020 Feb 26;294(2):377-385. Epub 2019 Nov 26.

From the Departments of Radiology (O.M., N.H., N.L., A.Z.M., C.W.F., X.L., J.A.M., H.J., A.G., J.A.S., S.W.A., L.E.G.), Neurology (A.C.M., L.E.G.), Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.E.A., B.R.H., A.C.M., L.E.G.), Behavioral Neuroscience (S.E.C.), and Anatomy and Neurobiology (K.J.B.), Boston University School of Medicine, 670 Albany St, Boston, MA 02118; Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center, Boston, Mass (O.M., N.H., P.T.K., L.E.E., S.E.C., J.A.M., V.E.A., B.R.H., A.C.M., L.E.G.); VA Boston Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain, Mass (A.M.H., V.E.A., B.R.H., A.C.M.); Stroke Branch, National Institute of Neurologic Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md (A.D.G., L.L.L.); Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Md (A.D.G., L.L.L.); and Center for Biometals and Metallomics (O.M., N.L., J.A.M., L.E.G.), College of Engineering (E.S.F., A.C.M., S.W.A., L.E.G.), and Photonics Center (O.M., J.A.M., S.W.A., L.E.G.), Boston University, Boston, Mass.

Background Gadolinium retention after repeated gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) exposure has been reported in subcortical gray matter. However, gadolinium retention in the cerebral cortex has not been systematically investigated. Purpose To determine whether and where gadolinium is retained in rat and human cerebral cortex. Read More

Am J Otolaryngol 2020 Jan - Feb;41(1):102309. Epub 2019 Oct 17.

Department of Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

Objective: The goal of this study was to describe the clinical presentation associated with atypical schwannoma of the cerebellopontine angle, characterize the pathologic findings and describe the long-term outcome.

Materials And Methods: The study design was retrospective case review of patients with the histopathologic diagnosis of atypical and benign schwannoma of the cerebellopontine angle diagnosed at the study institution over a 10-year period.

Setting: Tertiary referral center. Read More

J Physiol 2020 Feb 29;598(4):853-889. Epub 2019 Nov 29.

Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, 808 S. Wood St, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.

Key Points: In central regions of vestibular semicircular canal epithelia, the [K ] in the synaptic cleft ([K ] ) contributes to setting the hair cell and afferent membrane potentials; the potassium efflux from type I hair cells results from the interdependent gating of three conductances. Elevation of [K ] occurs through a calcium-activated potassium conductance, G , and a low-voltage-activating delayed rectifier, G , that activates upon elevation of [K ] . Calcium influx that enables quantal transmission also activates I , an effect that can be blocked internally by BAPTA, and externally by a Ca 1. Read More

Semin Hear 2019 Nov 9;40(4):292-299. Epub 2019 Oct 9.

Department of Otolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi.

The relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and the auditory/vestibular system has been investigated for more than a century. Most population-based investigations of hearing loss in persons with diabetes (PWD) have revealed a slow progressive, bilateral, high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss. Despite the growing research literature on the pathophysiology of DM-related hearing loss using various animal models and other human studies, knowledge of specific mechanism of the degenerative changes of the inner ear and/or auditory nerve is far from full elucidation. Read More

Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2019 Oct 7;32(5):723-733. Epub 2019 Oct 7.

Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Audiology and Phoniatrics Clinic).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the restriction in neck rotation and increased neck muscle tension could be causally related to vertigo and dizziness.

Material And Methods: Seventy-one patients reporting vertigo and/or imbalance were divided into 2 groups: 45 subjects with unilateral restriction (R+) and 26 without restriction (R-) of cervical rotation and muscle tension in the clinical flexion-rotation test. The normal caloric test was the inclusion criterion. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2019 12 2;122(6):2272-2283. Epub 2019 Oct 2.

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, District of Columbia.

Children with congenital vestibular disorders show delayed motor development and challenges in maintaining posture and balance. Computed tomography images reveal that these children have abnormal inner ears in the form of a sac, with the semicircular canals missing or truncated. Little is known about how this inner ear abnormality affects central vestibular development. Read More

Cell 2019 10 19;179(2):392-402.e15. Epub 2019 Sep 19.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Mortimer B. Zukerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. Electronic address:

The ability to sense sour provides an important sensory signal to prevent the ingestion of unripe, spoiled, or fermented foods. Taste and somatosensory receptors in the oral cavity trigger aversive behaviors in response to acid stimuli. Here, we show that the ion channel Otopetrin-1, a proton-selective channel normally involved in the sensation of gravity in the vestibular system, is essential for sour sensing in the taste system. Read More

World Neurosurg 2019 Dec 18;132:397. Epub 2019 Sep 18.

Departments of Neurologic Surgery and Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Electronic address:

A 50-year-old man with a history of left-sided retrosigmoid craniotomy for vestibular schwannoma (VS) resection 19 years prior presented with severe headache and left cerebellopontine angle subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Digital subtraction angiography demonstrated a dissected, nonfunctional left posterior inferior cerebellar artery with direct fistulization at the left transverse sinus (Video 1). The lesion was treated with endovascular Onyx embolization. Read More

Drug Discov Ther 2019 ;13(4):228-231

Department of Neurosurgery, Fukuoka University Chikushi Hospital.

We describe a rare case of neurovascular compression syndrome (NVCS) of the brain stem and opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) complicated with vestibular paroxysmia (VP) and autonomic symptoms. Moreover, we discuss the case with respect to the available information in medical literature. A 36-year-old man with vertigo and nausea had difficulty standing, and was transported by an ambulance to our hospital. Read More

Am J Otolaryngol 2019 Nov - Dec;40(6):102270. Epub 2019 Aug 2.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Objective: Publications on histopathology of human temporal bones with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection are limited. We aim to determine histopathology of the inner ears and the middle ears in human temporal bones with congenital and acquired CMV infections.

Methods: Temporal bones from 2 infants with congenital and 2 adults with acquired CMV infection were evaluated by light microscopy. Read More

Brain Struct Funct 2019 Nov 2;224(8):2717-2731. Epub 2019 Aug 2.

Departamento de Fisiología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes, 6, 41012, Seville, Spain.

Medial rectus motoneurons are innervated by two main pontine inputs. The specific function of each of these two inputs remains to be fully understood. Indeed, selective partial deafferentation of medial rectus motoneurons, performed by the lesion of either the vestibular or the abducens input, initially induces similar changes in motoneuronal discharge. Read More

Prog Brain Res 2019 15;249:211-225. Epub 2019 May 15.

Department of Neurology, Dizziness Center, Clinical Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea; Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address:

The central vestibular system operates to precisely estimate the rotational velocity and gravity orientation using the inherently ambiguous information from peripheral vestibular system. Therefore, any lesions disrupting this function can generate positional nystagmus. Central positional nystagmus (CPN) can be classified into the paroxysmal (transient) and persistent forms. Read More

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2019 ;119(5):32-38

Research Center of Neurology, Moscow, Russia.

Aim: To study the efficacy of vinpocetine (cavinton comfort) in the treatment of vestibular disorders in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia.

Material And Methods: A prospective study included 82 patients (43 men and 39 women, aged 61-75 years, mean age 63,8±5,4 years, with chronic cerebrovascular disease (1-2 stages) with vestibular disorders. Patients were divided into two groups. Read More

Am J Phys Anthropol 2019 11 10;170(3):439-446. Epub 2019 Jul 10.

School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Objectives: Morphological variation within the southern African hypodigm of Paranthropus has been the focus of major interest since the earliest discoveries in the "Cradle of Humankind." Given the relevance of the bony labyrinth for investigating fossil primate paleobiodiversity, this article aims to provide additional evidence for assessing the degree of regional variation within Paranthropus through the comparative analysis of the inner ear of DNH 22.

Materials And Methods: As comparative material, 18 southern African hominin specimens from Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, and Makapansgat (plus published data from Kromdraai B), attributed to Australopithecus, early Homo or Paranthropus, as well as 10 extant human and 10 extant common chimpanzee specimens are investigated. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 07 9;116(30):15033-15041. Epub 2019 Jul 9.

Mechanical Engineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;

Flying birds maneuver effectively through lateral gusts, even when gust speeds are as high as flight speeds. What information birds use to sense gusts and how they compensate is largely unknown. We found that lovebirds can maneuver through 45° lateral gusts similarly well in forest-, lake-, and cave-like visual environments. Read More

J Laryngol Otol 2019 Jul 3;133(7):560-565. Epub 2019 Jul 3.

Department of Otolaryngology, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

Objective: To examine when cochlear fibrosis occurs following a translabyrinthine approach for vestibular schwannoma resection, and to determine the safest time window for potential cochlear implantation in cases with a preserved cochlear nerve.

Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the post-operative magnetic resonance imaging scans of patients undergoing a translabyrinthine approach for vestibular schwannoma resection, assessing the fluid signal within the cochlea. Cochleae were graded based on the Isaacson et al. Read More

Prog Brain Res 2019 23;248:303-317. Epub 2019 May 23.

German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany; Clinical Neuroscience, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Unilateral peripheral vestibular lesions not only lead to vertigo, nystagmus and imbalance, but also to a bias in the perception of verticality, which can be measured as tilt of the subjective visual vertical (SVV). Previously, this tilt has been assumed to be caused by a residual otolith bias, for example, because unequal numbers of active haircells on both sides of the utricular striola might result in an imbalance of the firing rates of central otolith neurons. Here we propose that a tilt of the subjective visual vertical might as well be caused by a vertical semicircular canal bias in the roll axis after unilateral peripheral lesions. Read More

Prog Brain Res 2019 8;248:29-44. Epub 2019 Jun 8.

Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. Electronic address:

The description of a biological system using a mathematical model is the most effective means to specify the functioning of a quantitative hypothesis, providing at the same time the ability to make predictions that can be further tested experimentally. The Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR), and more generally the ocular motor control system has been one of the first biological systems to be modeled mathematically and, thanks to contributions from anatomy, biology, biochemistry and information technology it is now the best understood sensory-motor system in humans. Basic science has made it possible to write the differential equations describing the functioning of the semicircular canals, of the otoliths, and of the ocular motor plant at different scales: from models explaining neurotransmitter behavior, to cell membranes and ionic currents, to individual neurons and entire populations, to those describing muscle contractions and eye movements. Read More

J Morphol 2019 09 24;280(9):1292-1308. Epub 2019 Jun 24.

Comparative Histolab Padova, Department of Biology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

During spinal cord (SC) regeneration in the tail of amphibians and lizards, small neurons in contact with the central canal and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are formed. The present review summarizes previous and recent studies that have characterized most of these neurons as cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons (CSFCNs), especially in the regenerating caudal SC of lizards. CSFCNs form tufts of stereocilia immersed in the CSF, secrete exosomes, and are often in contact with a secreted protein-rod indicated as Reissner fiber. Read More

Stem Cell Reports 2019 07 13;13(1):147-162. Epub 2019 Jun 13.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA. Electronic address:

Mutations in the gene encoding the type II transmembrane protease 3 (TMPRSS3) cause human hearing loss, although the underlying mechanisms that result in TMPRSS3-related hearing loss are still unclear. We combined the use of stem cell-derived inner ear organoids with single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate the role of TMPRSS3. Defective Tmprss3 leads to hair cell apoptosis without altering the development of hair cells and the formation of the mechanotransduction apparatus. Read More

Acta Bioeng Biomech 2019 ;21(1):73-78

Department of Rehabilitation, The Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine balance parameters in a group of young patients with vertigo symptoms and to verify posturography helpfulness in clinical evaluation of vestibular system pathology.

Methods: 77 children and adolescents of age 3-18 suffering from vertigo episodes participated in the study (46 girls, 31 boys). They underwent audiology objective tests and balance test on stable surface. Read More

Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2020 May 19;303(5):1221-1231. Epub 2019 Jun 19.

Otoneurology Unit, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain.

Rafael Lorente de Nó (1902-1990) was the youngest and last of Santiago Ramón y Cajal's students. With Fernando de Castro, Lorente de Nó helped to transition the focus of Ramón y Cajal's School from neuroanatomy to neurophysiology. His main contributions to neuroscience concerned the cytoarchitecture of the cerebral isocortex and hippocampus, neural networks, central vestibular system anatomy, vestibulo-ocular reflex physiology, cochlear nuclei anatomy, and synaptic transmission mechanisms. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2019 08 5;122(2):512-524. Epub 2019 Jun 5.

Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.

Anterograde and retrograde tract tracing were combined with neurotransmitter and modulator immunolabeling to identify the chemical anatomy of vestibular nuclear neurons with direct projections to the solitary nucleus in rats. Direct, sparsely branched but highly varicose axonal projections from neurons in the caudal vestibular nuclei to the solitary nucleus were observed. The vestibular neurons giving rise to these projections were predominantly located in ipsilateral medial vestibular nucleus. Read More

J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2019 08 4;20(4):313-339. Epub 2019 Jun 4.

Department of Otolaryngology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Vestibular NeuroEngineering Lab, 601 North Caroline Street, Suite 6253, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.

To better understand the spread of prosthetic current in the inner ear and to facilitate design of electrode arrays and stimulation protocols for a vestibular implant system intended to restore sensation after loss of vestibular hair cell function, we created a model of the primate labyrinth. Because the geometry of the implanted ear is complex, accurately modeling effects of prosthetic stimuli on vestibular afferent activity required a detailed representation of labyrinthine anatomy. Model geometry was therefore generated from three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of a normal rhesus temporal bone imaged using micro-MRI and micro-CT. Read More

Acta Otolaryngol 2019 Jul 20;139(7):581-587. Epub 2019 May 20.

a Department of Otolaryngology , Tokyo Medical and Dental University , Tokyo , Japan.

The thickness of Listing's plane accurately reflects gravitational recognition, constructed through the integration of visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensory input in the neural integrator of the central nervous system. Spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) is a progressive degenerative disease mainly involving the cerebellum and brainstem that leads to destabilize the gravitational recognition, and may thicken thickening of Listing's plane. The aim of this study is to evaluate the gravitational recognition in response to positional change in patients with SCD, using the thickness of Listing's plane as a parameter. Read More

Biomech Model Mechanobiol 2019 Dec 8;18(6):1577-1590. Epub 2019 May 8.

Laboratory for Aero and Hydrodynamics, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 LD, Delft, The Netherlands.

The vestibular system in the inner ear senses angular head manoeuvres by endolymph fluid which deforms a gelatinous sensory structure (the cupula). We constructed computer models that include both the endolymph flow (using CFD modelling), the cupula deformation (using FEM modelling), and the interaction between both (using fluid-structure interaction modelling). In the wide utricle, we observe an endolymph vortex. Read More

Wiad Lek 2019 ;72(4):539-542

Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy, Poltava, Ukraine.

Objective: Introduction: In recent years in Ukraine, as in the entire world, there has been an increase in cases of domestic injuries with a raise in the number of patients with craniocerebral trauma and its consequences. The aim of our research was to study clinical symptoms, the state of free radical oxidation, aggregate and hemocoagulative properties of blood in patients with mild craniocerebral trauma.

Patients And Methods: Materials and methods: We conducted comprehensive clinical and laboratory examination of 34 patients with mild craniocerebral trauma and 20 apparently healthy patients (the control group). Read More

PLoS One 2019 2;14(5):e0216214. Epub 2019 May 2.

Menrva Research Group, Schools of Mechatronic Systems Engineering and Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) has been shown to improve dynamic walking stability, affect postural responses, enhance balance in healthy subjects, and influence motor performance in individuals with Parkinson's disease. Although the studies to fully characterize the effect of nGVS are still ongoing, stochastic resonance theory which states that the addition of noisy signal may enhance a weak sensory input signals transmission in a non-linear system may provide a possible explanation for the observed positive effects of nGVS. This study explores the effect of nGVS on fine tracking behavior in healthy subjects. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 04 23;10(1):1904. Epub 2019 Apr 23.

Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1Y6, Canada.

Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) uses the external application of electrical current to selectively target the vestibular system in humans. Despite its recent popularity for the assessment/treatment of clinical conditions, exactly how this non-invasive tool activates the vestibular system remains an open question. Here we directly investigate single vestibular afferent responses to GVS applied to the mastoid processes of awake-behaving monkeys. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2019 07 17;122(1):132-150. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Department of Biology, Neuroscience Program, Quantitative Biology Institute, Ohio University , Athens, Ohio.

We review recent progress in using numerical models to relate utricular hair bundle and otoconial membrane (OM) structure to the functional requirements imposed by natural behavior in turtles. The head movements section reviews the evolution of experimental attempts to understand vestibular system function with emphasis on turtles, including data showing that accelerations occurring during natural head movements achieve higher magnitudes and frequencies than previously assumed. The structure section reviews quantitative anatomical data documenting topographical variation in the structures underlying macromechanical and micromechanical responses of the turtle utricle to head movement: hair bundles, OM, and bundle-OM coupling. Read More

eNeuro 2019 Jan-Feb;6(1). Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo 0372, Norway.

Vestibulospinal neurons are organized into discrete groups projecting from brainstem to spinal cord, enabling vertebrates to maintain proper balance and posture. The two largest groups are the lateral vestibulospinal tract (LVST) group and the contralateral medial vestibulospinal tract (cMVST) group, with different projection lateralities and functional roles. In search of a molecular basis for these differences, we performed RNA sequencing on LVST and cMVST neurons from mouse and chicken embryos followed by immunohistofluorescence validation. Read More

Genes Brain Behav 2019 11 23;18(8):e12568. Epub 2019 Apr 23.

Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo (USP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The recessive mutant mice bate palmas (bapa) - claps in Portuguese arose from N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea mutagenesis. A single nucleotide, T > C, change in exon 13, leading to a Thr Ala substitution, was identified in the lysine (K)-specific methyltransferase 2D gene (Kmt2d) located on chromosome 15. Mutations with a loss-of-function in the KMT2D gene on chromosome 12 in humans are responsible for Kabuki syndrome (KS). Read More

Subcell Biochem 2019;91:195-225

Department of Neurology and German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Munich, Germany.

The world's population is ageing due to increased hygiene and improved medical care. Dizziness and imbalance frequently affect the elderly and is most common among individuals over the age of 60. In this age group approximately 30% of the population experience these debilitating symptoms at some point. Read More

J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2019 May/Jun;55(3):e55302. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

From the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia (M.K., R.M.B., S.R.P.); Section of Neurology/Neurosurgery, Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, Tinton Falls, New Jersey (E.N.G., R.B.S.); Friendship Hospital for Animals, Washington, District of Columbia (L.B., E.J.H.); and Section of Anatomic Pathology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (A.dL., A.D.M.).

Read More

Curr Med Sci 2019 Feb 13;39(1):166-172. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China.

Three-point head fixation was constructed to provide mechanical stability for single unit recording (SUR) on vestibular sensory system in living chinchilla previously. However, it is no more qualified to this work when the stimulation intensity becomes large because of frequent unit losing and neuron damage, which strongly implies that the mechanical stability has been broken during the stimulation. Here, we constructed a novel head fixation (skull cap assistant head fixation) provided by skull cap on the basis of three-point head fixation in order to improve the mechanical stability for SUR under the stimulation with large magnitude. Read More