Kammermeier Stefan, Kleine Justus, Büttner Ulrich
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 May;1164:394-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.03861.x.
Vestibulospinal reflexes are important for upright stance and locomotor control. Information from both the vestibular and the proprioceptive system must be combined centrally to guarantee appropriate compensation for a physical disturbance. Recent single-unit recordings from the monkey demonstrated vestibulo-proprioceptive interaction in the fastigial nucleus (deep cerebellar nucleus). The present study investigated whether integration of vestibular and proprioceptive signals is compromised in humans with cerebellar degeneration. Control subjects and patients were exposed to binaural, sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation at 0.16 Hz, while their static head-on-trunk position was systematically altered in the head-horizontal plane from 60 degrees left to 60 degrees right. Controls responded to different head-on-trunk positions with fully compensatory changes in the direction of galvanically induced body sway, keeping it aligned with the head-frontal plane. In patients, this compensatory change was lacking. Findings support the assumption that the cerebellum plays a central role in the integration of vestibular and proprioceptive signals in humans. This form of impaired sensory interaction is probably a clinically important component of cerebellar stance and gait ataxia.
前庭脊髓反射对于直立姿势和运动控制至关重要。来自前庭系统和本体感觉系统的信息必须在中枢进行整合，以确保对身体干扰进行适当补偿。最近对猴子的单单位记录显示，在顶核（小脑深部核团）存在前庭-本体感觉相互作用。本研究调查了小脑变性患者的前庭和本体感觉信号整合是否受损。对照组受试者和患者接受0.16Hz的双耳正弦电前庭刺激，同时在头-水平面上将他们头部相对于躯干的静态位置从左60度系统地改变到右60度。对照组对不同的头部相对于躯干位置做出反应，在电刺激诱发的身体摆动方向上有完全补偿性的变化，使其与头-额平面保持一致。而在患者中，这种补偿性变化缺失。研究结果支持了小脑在人类前庭和本体感觉信号整合中起核心作用的假设。这种形式的感觉相互作用受损可能是小脑性姿势和步态共济失调临床上的一个重要组成部分。
