Open Mind Seminar Series,
Friday, March 9, 2012 at 11:30 am
Salle des Conférences, Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75006 Paris
Brian Day, the UCL Institute of Neurology
Virtual head motion reveals vestibular contributions to action
Vestibular sensors provide the brain with unique information about motion of the head in space, which a priori should be relevant for controlling a variety of motor activities. Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) evokes pure ‘virtual’ head motion without disturbing non-vestibular sensory channels, and so is potentially a valuable tool for probing vestibular contributions to different actions. Experiments have verified this and have shown that GVS can often give insight into the underlying central processes in man.
Professor Brian Day is head of the Whole-body Sensorimotor Lab at the UCL Insitute of Neurology. The laboratory focuses on neural processes that control human movement and balance, and their disorders resulting from damage to the central nervous system.
Their main lines of investigation are aimed at understanding the mechanisms that control and integrate whole-body actions, in particular standing, walking, and reaching. They are interested in how the neural processes combine sensory information from vestibular organs, eyes, muscles and skin to compute motor instructions. The brain regions in which they are currently interested include the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and parietal cortex.
The UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, was established in 1950 and merged with University College London in 1997. The Institute is closely associated in its work with the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals’ NHS Foundation Trust, and in combination they form a national and international centre at Queen Square for teaching, training and research in neurology and allied clinical and basic neurosciences.
For more information on the work of Brian Day and the Whole-body Sensorimotor Lab please visit:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/departments/sobell/Research/Bday