# Neural Processing of Native and Prosthetic Vestibular Signals for Postural Control

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $46,752

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 The primary goal of this project is to further our understanding of the contribution of the vestibular system
to balance control, particularly the neural mechanisms driving reflexive responses to postural perturbations.
Visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular signals are the primary means for sensing the position of the body and
maintaining balance. However, the central neural mechanisms of postural control remain elusive, as such
research requires recording single neurons in the brainstem during free behavior. In order to understand the
vestibular component of central postural control, I will first establish baseline postural responses in an animal
model, the rhesus macaque, which has proven to be a valuable model for understanding the neural control of
human vestibular function and processing. I will then characterize behavioral and neural responses during these
posture-stabilizing behaviors in healthy animals, bilateral vestibular loss animals, and vestibular loss animals
with replacement-of-function using a vestibular prosthesis. Aim 1 of this project is to characterize behavioral
responses to support surface perturbations. For postural perturbation experiments, the animal is acclimated to
a behavioral chamber mounted on a 6-degree-of-freedom hexapod motion platform. The hexapod delivers
support surface perturbations, and the animal’s motion is tracked using inertial measurement units, a force plate,
and markerless video motion tracking. These perturbations are repeated in normal and bilateral vestibular loss
animals, and the animals’ postural responses are quantified in order to build a model of the vestibular contribution
to balance control. Aim 2 is to characterize responses of vestibular-sensitive neurons that drive postural reflexes
to support surface perturbations. I will leverage emerging technology in wireless, high-density neural recording
to characterize the responses of neurons in the vestibular nuclei (VN) to postural perturbations in order to
elucidate the contribution of vestibulo-spinal reflexes, which are driven by VN cells, to postural corrections.
Finally, for Aim 3 I will repeat these experiments and recordings with an animal fitted with a multichannel
vestibular prosthesis in order to assess improvements in posture caused by the vestibular prosthesis, as well as
neural adaptation to novel and/or modified vestibular inputs delivered by the prosthesis. This work has the
potential to contribute to our understanding of the role of vestibuloception in maintaining upright posture, as well
as improve quality-of-life for patients experiencing bilateral vestibular loss by providing data on the best
modulation strategies for vestibular prostheses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10607477
- **Project number:** 1F31DC020390-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Olivia Marie Elaine Leavitt
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,752
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10607477

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10607477, Neural Processing of Native and Prosthetic Vestibular Signals for Postural Control (1F31DC020390-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10607477. Licensed CC0.

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