Search results for "vestibular system"
showing 10 items of 120 documents
Treatment of Specific Types of Nystagmus
2007
■ The function of the ocular motor system is to hold images stable on the fovea. The vestibular system and the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) also play an important role in this function. The VOR connects the peripheral vestibular endorgans – the semicircular canals and otoliths – with their appropriate pair of eye muscles via a three-neuronal arc.
The Relationship Between the Stomatognathic System and Body Posture
2009
In recent years, many researchers have investigated the various factors that can influence body posture: mood states, anxiety, head and neck positions, oral functions (respiration, swallowing), oculomotor and visual systems, and the inner ear. Recent studies indicate a role for trigeminal afferents on body posture, but this has not yet been demonstrated conclusively. The present study aims to review the papers that have shown a relationship between the stomatognathic system and body posture. These studies suggest that tension in the stomatognathic system can contribute to impaired neural control of posture. Numerous anatomical connections between the stomatognathic system’s proprioceptive i…
The topographic diagnosis of acquired nystagmus in brainstem disorders.
2002
Evidence is presented for a clinical classification of central vestibular syndromes according to the three major planes of action of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR): yaw, pitch, and roll. The plane-specific vestibular syndromes are determined by ocular motor, postural, and perceptual signs. Yaw plane signs are horizontal nystagmus, horizontal past pointing, rotational and lateral body falls to the right or to the left, and horizontal deviation of perceived straight-ahead. Pitch plane signs are upbeat/downbeat nystagmus, forward/backward tilts and falls, and upward or downward deviations of the perceived horizontal. Roll plane signs are torsional nystagmus, skew deviation, ocular torsion, …
Comparative study of the effect of gentamicin on the vestibulo-ocular and visual vestibulo-ocular reflexes in the cat.
1991
The ototoxic effect of an aminoglycoside, gentamicin, on the vestibular system was investigated in cats given daily doses of 40 mg/kg i.m. for 14 days. Periodically, measurements were made of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and visual vestibulo-ocular reflex (ViVOR) responses induced by rotatory stimuli at various frequencies from 0.0125 Hz to 0.8 Hz. After the cessation of drug administration, a progressively declining response to VOR stimuli continued, manifested by gain (ratio of peak response to peak stimulus amplitude) and phase relationships. The ViVOR was affected only in the gain measurements. The changes in the response amplitude (gain) were greater for the VOR than for the ViVOR…
The role of the thalamus in the human subcortical vestibular system1
2014
Most of our knowledge concerning central vestibular pathways is derived from animal studies while evidence of the functional importance and localization of these pathways in humans is less well defined. The termination of these pathways at the thalamic level in humans is even less known. In this review we summarize the findings concerning the central subcortical vestibular pathways in humans and the role of these structures in the central vestibular system with regard to anatomical localization and function. Also, we review the role of the thalamus in the pathogenesis of higher order sensory deficits such as spatial neglect, pusher syndrome or thalamic astasia and the correlation of these p…
General remarks on the role of the vestibular system in weightlessness
1987
Different methods are described to experimentally achieve weightlessness. Since the function of the otolith system depends on the presence of contact forces opposing gravity, it is disabled in weightlessness and may send misleading positional information to the brain. Without the contributions of the otolith system it is difficult in space to distinguish self-motion from object motion. Furthermore, the disintegration of information from the neck position receptors from those of the otolith system can lead to additional illusory positional sensations. Since the function of the semicircular canal system in previous space flights was found to be essentially undisturbed, the vestibular experime…
Responses to eccentric rotation in two space-bound subjects
1993
Two subjects were rotated eccentrically in the manner described previously. In contrast to a normal control group, settings of a luminous line to the subjective vertical were almost unrelated to the gravitoinertial vector before, and totally so shortly after, space flight. Only 3 days postflight did a clear relation to the gravitoinertial vector re-establish itself in the one subject who actually flew. The correspondence became normal 5 days after the flight. Since there were no clinical abnormalities evident in the subjects, it is suggested that both subjects suppressed their vestibular information, presumably as an effect of vestibular deconditioning training before the flight. In additio…
Threshold-based vestibular adaptation to cross-coupled canal stimulation
2008
Prior experiments have demonstrated that people are able to adapt to cross-coupled accelerations associated with head movements while spinning at high rotation rates (e.g., 23 rpm or 138°/s). However, while adapting, subjects commonly experience serious side effects, such as motion sickness, non-compensatory eye movements, and strong and potentially disorienting illusory body tilt or tumbling sensations. In the present study, we investigated the feasibility of adaptation using a threshold-based method, which ensured that the illusory tilt sensations remained imperceptible or just barely noticeable. This was achieved by incrementally increasing the angular velocity of the horizontal centrifu…
Vertigo, Masseter Paresis or Masseter Reflex Abnormality, and Impaired Caloric Response
1993
Symptoms and signs of acute peripheral-type vestibular abnormalities occasionally occur in patients with multiple sclerosis and brain-stem ischemia. Such patients may show reduced excitability of the lateral semicircular canal. From this observation, the question arises as to the location of the causative lesion.
Vaskulärer Schwindel
2002
Ischemia,hemorrhages, and other vascular disorders can result in various central or peripheral vestibular syndromes with vertigo, oculomotor/balance disturbances, and nausea. The vascular vertigo syndromes listed in Table 1 can however be brought about by other causes such as demyelitizing focuses in multiple sclerosis or space-occupying lesions, so that not only localization of the damaged structure but also the various etiologies are decisive for the choice of therapy. Occasionally, combined functional disturbances of the peripheral and central vestibular system appear, such as an infarction of the inferior anterior cerebellar artery, which supplies the labyrinth and parts of the brainste…