Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.

When navigating through the environment, our brain needs to infer how far we move and in which direction we are heading. In this estimation process, the brain may rely on multiple sensory modalities, including the visual and vestibular systems. Previous research has mainly focused on heading estimat...

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Main Authors: Arjan C ter Horst, Mathieu Koppen, Luc P J Selen, W Pieter Medendorp
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4687653?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-500cfc8c022747208dd44bb603fe23752020-11-25T02:14:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-011012e014501510.1371/journal.pone.0145015Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.Arjan C ter HorstMathieu KoppenLuc P J SelenW Pieter MedendorpWhen navigating through the environment, our brain needs to infer how far we move and in which direction we are heading. In this estimation process, the brain may rely on multiple sensory modalities, including the visual and vestibular systems. Previous research has mainly focused on heading estimation, showing that sensory cues are combined by weighting them in proportion to their reliability, consistent with statistically optimal integration. But while heading estimation could improve with the ongoing motion, due to the constant flow of information, the estimate of how far we move requires the integration of sensory information across the whole displacement. In this study, we investigate whether the brain optimally combines visual and vestibular information during a displacement estimation task, even if their reliability varies from trial to trial. Participants were seated on a linear sled, immersed in a stereoscopic virtual reality environment. They were subjected to a passive linear motion involving visual and vestibular cues with different levels of visual coherence to change relative cue reliability and with cue discrepancies to test relative cue weighting. Participants performed a two-interval two-alternative forced-choice task, indicating which of two sequentially perceived displacements was larger. Our results show that humans adapt their weighting of visual and vestibular information from trial to trial in proportion to their reliability. These results provide evidence that humans optimally integrate visual and vestibular information in order to estimate their body displacement.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4687653?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Arjan C ter Horst
Mathieu Koppen
Luc P J Selen
W Pieter Medendorp
spellingShingle Arjan C ter Horst
Mathieu Koppen
Luc P J Selen
W Pieter Medendorp
Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Arjan C ter Horst
Mathieu Koppen
Luc P J Selen
W Pieter Medendorp
author_sort Arjan C ter Horst
title Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.
title_short Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.
title_full Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.
title_fullStr Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.
title_full_unstemmed Reliability-Based Weighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues in Displacement Estimation.
title_sort reliability-based weighting of visual and vestibular cues in displacement estimation.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2015-01-01
description When navigating through the environment, our brain needs to infer how far we move and in which direction we are heading. In this estimation process, the brain may rely on multiple sensory modalities, including the visual and vestibular systems. Previous research has mainly focused on heading estimation, showing that sensory cues are combined by weighting them in proportion to their reliability, consistent with statistically optimal integration. But while heading estimation could improve with the ongoing motion, due to the constant flow of information, the estimate of how far we move requires the integration of sensory information across the whole displacement. In this study, we investigate whether the brain optimally combines visual and vestibular information during a displacement estimation task, even if their reliability varies from trial to trial. Participants were seated on a linear sled, immersed in a stereoscopic virtual reality environment. They were subjected to a passive linear motion involving visual and vestibular cues with different levels of visual coherence to change relative cue reliability and with cue discrepancies to test relative cue weighting. Participants performed a two-interval two-alternative forced-choice task, indicating which of two sequentially perceived displacements was larger. Our results show that humans adapt their weighting of visual and vestibular information from trial to trial in proportion to their reliability. These results provide evidence that humans optimally integrate visual and vestibular information in order to estimate their body displacement.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4687653?pdf=render
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