- The visual system is made up of the eye, retina, optic nerve, chiasma and tract, the lateral geniculate body, optic radiation, visual cortex and the visual association cortex
Equilibrioception: Balance in Your Inner Ear
Isaac, Jimmy, Andy, and Scott
Visual System:
Equilibrium is the state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced; a state of physical balance; a calm state of mind
- Equilibrioception is the physiological sense of balance that prevents humans and animals from falling over when walking or standing still
- Controlled by three body systems:
- visual (eyes)
- vestibular (ears)
- proprioception (sense of presence is a space)
- All these systems must work in harmony or equilibrium for balance to be intact
A detailed look into the swag that is the human bod
Vestibular System:
- made up of the cochlea (part of the auditory system), it is the labyrinth of the inner ear
- 2 main components
- semicircular canal system - rotational movement
- otoliths - linear movement
- The otoliths are sensitive to gravity and linear acceleration so they send information to the brain about movement
- The vestibular system sends information about linear and spatial movement to the brain
- example - when going down in an elevator we experience a sense of downward movement
- Inner ear fluid - the fluid in our ears rotates based on two planes
- the rotation of the head around a vertical axis (aka the neck)
- anterior and posterior sagittal plane (up and down - nodding the head) and the frontal plane
- The fluid pushes on the cupula
- The semicircular canals are paired so when one canal is stimulated by the fluid, the opposite canal is also stimulated
- if the fluid is not in equilibrium inside the two canals then you will lose balance and experience vertigo
You experience the effects of equilibrioception all the time, like when...
of the Vestibular System (or Equilibrioception):
- You feel your body move with an elevator even though you can't see the elevator itself moving
- You sit in an office chair in the dark and it rotates to the left. You feel yourself rotating but can't see anything around you move
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular_system
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Blausen_0329_EarAnatomy_InternalEar.png
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equilibrioception
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_system
- http://vestibular.org/understanding-vestibular-disorder/human-balance-system