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Reweighting Sensory Signals to Maintain Head Stability: Adaptive Properties of the Cervicocollic Reflex

Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York

Submitted 13 July 2007; accepted in final form 23 April 2008

A major goal of this study was to characterize the cervicocollic reflexes (CCRs) in awake squirrel monkeys and compare it to observations in cat. This was carried out by stabilizing the head in space while rotating the lower body. The magnitude and phase of the torque produced between the head and the restraint system was used as an indicator of the CCR. Many properties of the squirrel monkey's CCR were found to be similar to those of the cat. The torque decreased as a function of frequency and amplitude. In addition, the static level of torque increased with head eccentricity. One difference was that the torque was 90x smaller in squirrel monkeys. Biomechanical differences, such as differences in head inertia, could account for these differences. The second goal was to determine if the CCR was sensitive to increases in the head's inertia. To test this, we increased the head's inertia by a factor of 36 and allowed the reflexes to adapt by rotating the whole body while the head was free to move. The CCR was rapidly assessed by periodically stabilizing the head in space during whole-body rotations. The magnitude of the torque increased by nearly 60%, suggesting that the CCR may adapt when changes in the head's inertia are imposed. Changes in the torque were also consistent with changes in head-movement kinematics during whole-body rotation. This suggests that the collic reflexes may dynamically adapt to maintain the performance and kinematics of reflexive head movement.