The vestibular system is crucial for postural control; however there are considerable differences in the task dependence and frequency response of vestibular reflexes in appendicular and axial muscles. For example, vestibular reflexes are only evoked in appendicular muscles when vestibular information is relevant to postural control, while in neck muscles they are maintained regardless of the r...

I n her article entitled "Testing Vestibular Function: Problems With the Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test" (American Journal ofOccupational Therapy, July 1989), Helen Cohen concluded: "Although postrotatory nystagmus is indicative of vestibular system function, the SCPNT [Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test] does not provide a valid measure of that behavior. Therefore, re...

The vestibular system contributes to the generation of conjugate eye movements, spatial orientation, and postural control. The functional connections of the vestibular end-organs and of the descending vestibulospinal pathways and their importance to postural control were reviewed in the previous paper by Keshner and Cohen (pp. 320-330). This paper reviews the ascending vestibular pathways, the ...

Vestibular symptoms are persistent and problematic sequelae of blast exposure. Several lines of evidence suggest that these symptoms often stem from injury to the central nervous system. Current methods of assessing the vestibular system have described vestibular deficits that follow traumatic brain injury and differentiate blunt and blast trauma but have not examined the full range of vestibul...

The vestibular system is a sophisticated human control system. Accurate processing of sensory input about rapid head and postural motion is critical. Not surprisingly, the body uses multiple, partially redundant sensory inputs and motor outputs, combined with a very competent central repair capability. The system as a whole can adapt to substantial peripheral vestibular dysfunction. The Achille...

Vestibular system, which consists of structures in the inner ear and brainstem, plays a vital role is body balance and patient well-being. In recent years, modulating this system by vestibular stimulation techniques are reported to be effective in stress relief and possibly patient's emotional well-being. Emotions refer to an aroused state involving intense feeling, autonomic activation, and re...

In an attempt to diminish the intensity of vertigo, this study was designed to reduce the imbalance between the vestibular system on the two sides. By rotating the subjects with a string-activated rotating chair in opposite direction of the dominant side, the dominant side would be inhibited and simultaneously the subordinate ide would be stimulated. Eight patients with vestibular vertigo c...

Research conducted in the past 4 years has shown that the avian vestibular system retains the capacity to generate hair cells postnatally. In the present paper we review information on postnatal proliferation and differentiation of hair cells in the avian vestibular system. In addition, we present preliminary accounts of recent experiments regarding regeneration of vestibular hair cells followi...

background chronic vestibular dysfunction is a frustrating problem in the elderly and can have a tremendous impact on their life, but only a few studies are available. vestibular rehabilitation therapy (vrt) is an important therapeutic option for the neuro-otologist in treating patients with significant balance deficits. objectives the purpose of this study was to assess the effect of vestibula...

The vestibular system is a sensory system that has evolved to detect linear and angular acceleration of the head in all planes so that the brain is not predominantly reliant on visual information to determine self-motion. Since the vestibular system first evolved in invertebrate species in order to detect gravitational vertical, it is likely that the central nervous system has developed a speci...