Vestibulo-oculomotor research and measurement technology for the space station era

Abstract

Recent improvements in measurement techniques and mathematical representations for eye, head and body movement have enhanced our appreciation of the complexity of spatial orientation and locomotion in three-dimensional space. The shortcomings of present measurement techniques, and their solution with emerging technologies are described. The prolonged microgravity conditions on the space station provide a unique opportunity to investigate these three-dimensional aspects of the vestibular and oculomotor systems, and in particular, the role of the otolith afferences. While the canal-ocular responses and their central pathways are reasonably well understood, the community has only recently become aware of the variety of functions fulfilled by otolith-mediated information, i.e., translational otolith-ocular reflex, inertial processing, gravitational reference, vergence control. Recent results, largely from experiments performed on the Mir Station, where the emphasis was on the otolith contribution to the vestibulo-ocular response mechanisms, are reviewed.