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Biomedical subjects

G M Halmagyi

Publications and source records attributed to G M Halmagyi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

The effects of galvanic stimulation on the human vestibulo-ocular reflex.

We studied the effects of 5 mA bilateral or unilateral, bipolar or monopolar, galvanic stimulation on the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (hVOR) in six normal subjects during 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 Hz yaw rotations and in two subjects during high-acceleration, low-amplitude yaw head rotations (head impulses). Bipolar galvanic stimulation induced horizontal nystagmus in all subjects and an asymmetry of the hVOR only during rotations below 0.1 Hz. Monopolar stimulation had no significant effect. The findings suggest that in humans galvanic stimulation affects those primary horizontal semicircular canal neurons that mediate the hVOR via indirect pathways through the velocity storage mechanism.

Acceleration↗
PubMed2000

Semicircular canal occlusion causes permanent VOR changes.

We measured the guinea pig horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (hVOR) to high acceleration impulsive head rotations following a unilateral lateral semicircular canal (LSCC) occlusion. We found a significant hVOR deficit for rotations toward the side of the occluded LSCC and this deficit did not show systematic changes over 3 months. We considered the LSCC nerve was still functional as shown by the normal appearance of the crista of the LSCC ampulla and also electrical stimulation of the LSCC. We conclude that the VOR during angular acceleration in response to high acceleration shows no adaptive plasticity following a unilateral LSCC occlusion.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Posterior semicircular canal nystagmus is conjugate and its axis is parallel to that of the canal.

A patient with a postoperative fistula of the left posterior semicircular canal is presented. Negative pressure in the external ear canal produced upbeat-torsional nystagmus, which was recorded in three dimensions using binocular scleral search coils. The nystagmus was conjugate, without skew deviation, and its trajectory corresponded to the anatomic axis of the left posterior canal. The current study helps validate Ewald's first law in humans: the axis of nystagmus should match the anatomic axis of the semicircular canal that generated it. This law is clinically useful in diagnosing pathology of the vestibular end-organ, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or the superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Chronic ophthalmoplegia with anti-GQ1b antibody.

Anti-GQ1b antibodies are typically found in patients with the Miller Fisher syndrome, all of whom will have, by definition, acute ophthalmoplegia. The authors describe three patients with chronic ophthalmoplegia in the presence of persistently high titers of immunoglobulin G anti-GQ1b antibody detected in an ELISA, one of whom improved with immunotherapy. Anti-GQ1b antibodies may be associated with some cases of chronic ophthalmoplegia of unknown cause.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Vestibular hypersensitivity to sound (Tullio phenomenon): structural and functional assessment.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the role of high-resolution CT imaging and tests of vestibulocollic reflexes in diagnosing and understanding the pathogenesis of the Tullio phenomenon. BACKGROUND: The Tullio phenomenon is a syndrome in which acoustic stimulation produces symptoms and signs of vestibular activation. It has previously been associated with an abnormally low threshold for click-evoked vestibulocollic responses and also with dehiscence of the roof of the anterior (superior) semicircular canal on high-resolution CT scans of the temporal bones. METHODS: High-resolution CT scans of the temporal bones and vestibulocollic responses in sternocleidomastoid to both clicks and transmastoid galvanic stimulation (3 mA/2 msec) were studied in four patients with the Tullio phenomenon (one bilateral). RESULTS: Click-evoked thresholds were low for all affected ears (four at 65 dB nHL, one at 55 dB nHL) and normal (>70 dB nHL) for the three unaffected ears. In contrast, galvanic-evoked vestibulocollic responses were symmetric and of normal size in all patients. The bony roof of the anterior (superior) semicircular canal was thin, possibly absent, on CT of all affected ears and also in two out of three unaffected ears. CONCLUSIONS: The normal galvanic vestibulocollic responses indicate that sound sensitivity in patients with the Tullio phenomenon is likely to occur distal to the vestibular nerve, probably at the level of the receptors. Both click hypersensitivity and dehiscence of the anterior (superior) semicircular canal are associated with the Tullio phenomenon but as the CT scan abnormality can occur in clinically unaffected ears, click testing is important for specific diagnosis. Abnormal sound sensitivity, as demonstrated by click responses, confirms that the radiologic abnormality is function significant.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Sudden unilateral hearing loss with simultaneous ipsilateral posterior semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a variant of vestibulo-cochlear neurolabyrinthitis?

We describe 4 patients who all simultaneously developed a sudden total or partial unilateral sensorineural hearing loss and an unusual acute peripheral vestibulopathy in the same ear characterized by posterior semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo with intact lateral semicircular canal function. Two patients also had ipsilateral loss of otolith function. The vertigo resolved in all 4 patients after particle-repositioning maneuvers. The findings of audiometry and vestibular tests indicated that the lesion responsible for this syndrome was probably located within the labyrinth itself rather than within the vestibulocochlear nerve and that it was more likely a viral vestibulocochlear neurolabyrinthitis than a labyrinthine infarction.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

What inner ear diseases cause benign paroxysmal positional vertigo?

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) originating from the posterior semicircular canal (pSCC) is a common vestibular disorder that is easy to diagnose and usually easy to treat. The majority of patients with BPPV have no known inner ear disease; they have "primary" or "idiopathic" BPPV. However, a minority does have objective evidence of an inner ear disease on the same side as the BPPV and this group has "secondary" or "symptomatic" BPPV. Previous publications differ on the prevalence of secondary BPPV and about the types of inner ear diseases capable of causing it. In order to determine what proportion of patients have secondary as opposed to primary BPPV and which inner ear diseases are capable of causing secondary BPPV, we searched our database for the 10-year period from 1988 to 1997 and found a total of 2847 patients with BPPV. Of these, 81 (3%) had definite pSCC-BPPV secondary to an ipsilateral inner ear disease. Sixteen had Menière's disease, 24 had an acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy, 12 had a chronic unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy, 21 had chronic bilateral peripheral vestibulopathy and 8 had unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. It seems that any inner ear disease that detaches otoconia and yet does not totally destroy pSCC function can cause BPPV and that a case can be made for audiometry and caloric testing in all patients with BPPV.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

Isolated directional preponderance of caloric nystagmus: I. Clinical significance.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical significance of an isolated directional preponderance (DP) on bithermal caloric testing. An isolated caloric DP was defined as a DP, calculated according to the standard Jongkees formula, of > or = 40%, with a spontaneous nystagmus (SN) in darkness of < or = 2 degrees/s and a canal paresis (unilateral weakness) of < or = 25%. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of all 15,542 bithermal caloric tests performed in the authors' department in the previous 10 years to identify all tests with an isolated DP of > or = 40%. This was followed by a review of the clinical data on the 144 patients identified with such a result and then by a telephone or postal follow-up study of these patients. The study group eventually comprised 114 patients; these were patients in whom a clinical diagnosis could be made at the time the caloric test was done, or who responded to requests for follow-up information. The 34 patients in whom a clinical diagnosis could not be made at the time of the caloric test, and who did not respond to requests for follow-up information, were excluded. STUDY SETTING: A balance disorders clinic in a tertiary referral hospital. INTERVENTION: All patients underwent standard bithermal caloric testing. Some of the patients also underwent rotational testing. OUTCOME MEASURES: A clinical diagnosis for the cause of the isolated DP, made either at the time of the caloric test or on the basis of information supplied at follow-up by the patient or by the referring physician. RESULTS: Of 114 patients, 39 had benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo, 14 had Ménière's disease, and 5 had migrainous vertigo. Five patients had central nervous system (CNS) disorders, and this was clinically apparent at the time of the caloric test in 4, so that only 1 patient with an isolated DP developed evidence of a CNS disorder after the caloric test was done. In the other 54 patients, no definite diagnosis could be made, but 41 of these 54 were either completely well or much better at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: An isolated DP on caloric testing is usually a transient, benign disorder. About half the patients with an isolated DP have either Ménière's disease or benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo; in most of the other half, no definite diagnosis is made but most of these patients will do well. Only approximately 5% have a CNS lesion and in almost all this is apparent at the time the caloric test is done. In a relapsing-remitting peripheral vestibular disorder such as benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo or Ménière's disease, the mechanism of an isolated DP could be enhanced dynamic gain of ipsilesional medial vestibular nucleus neurons, perhaps as a result of intermittent hyperfunction of primary semicircular canal vestibular afferents. The authors postulate that an isolated DP reflects a gain asymmetry between neurons in the medial vestibular nucleus on either side, caused either by increased sensitivity on one side or by reduced sensitivity on the other, perhaps as an adaptive change in response to abnormal input. In an accompanying article, the authors implement a realistic neural network model in which it is possible to simulate an isolated DP by adjusting the dynamic sensitivity of type 1 medial vestibular nucleus neurons on one side or of type 2 medial vestibular nucleus neurons on the other.

Caloric Tests↗
PubMed2000

Isolated directional preponderance of caloric nystagmus: II. A neural network model.

HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to simulate an isolated directional preponderance (DP) on bithermal caloric testing by constructing a realistic neural network model. The simulation was designed to capture not only the characteristics of the nystagmus response to caloric stimulation but also the response to rotational stimulation in patients with an isolated caloric DP. BACKGROUND: The nature of an isolated DP--that is, a DP in the absence of a significant spontaneous nystagmus or canal paresis--is outlined in the preceding article. In this article, the authors investigate the possible neural basis for an isolated caloric DP using the mathematic modeling technique of neural network simulation. Neural network models are typically abstract in nature; however, in this case the network was based on the known structure and function of the central vestibular system. METHODS: The neural network model was based on the known neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the horizontal vestibuloocular reflex pathway. A leftward-rightward asymmetric modification of the dynamic responses of simulated medial vestibular nucleus type IA neurons on one side, or of type 2 neurons on the other side, to peripheral input would generate an isolated caloric DP. RESULTS: The values of DP and associated canal paresis produced by the network were within the same range as in the patient group. The network also predicted that the rotational DP would be lower than the caloric DP: between 2.5% and 56.9% of the caloric DP value. The actual rotational DP value was between 3% and 57% (average 41%) of the corresponding caloric DP value. CONCLUSIONS: An isolated caloric DP can be simulated by a neural network model by modifying the activity of model units that represent medial vestibular nucleus neurons. An asymmetric dynamic response by a gain-enhancement function of either type 1A neurons on one side or of type 2 neurons on the other was sufficient to produce an isolated caloric DP. Excitatory gain enhancement of type 2 neurons produced a smaller rotational DP than a similar modification of type 1 neurons. This result indicates a potential neural locus for the generation of an isolated DP in patients with vestibular disorders.

Caloric Tests↗
PubMed1999

The planes of the utricular and saccular maculae of the guinea pig.

To establish a link between otolith anatomy and function it is necessary to know the regions of the utricular and saccular maculae, which are stimulated by any arbitrary linear acceleration stimulus. That requires accurate information about the location and orientation of the spatially extended maculae in head-fixed coordinates and referred to head-fixed landmarks (such as Reid's line). New data showing the location of the otolithic maculae in the guinea pig with respect to head-fixed stereotaxic coordinates are presented. Guinea pigs were perfused with Karnovsky's fixative and the maculae were exposed while the head was held in a guinea pig stereotaxic device. An electrolytically sharpened fine wire held in a calibrated micromanipulator was touched to points all over the surface of each macula under visual observation with the aid of a high-power operating microscope. The x, y, z coordinates of these points were plotted using a three-dimensional plotting program. Both maculae have pronounced curvature so that dorsoventral shear forces will stimulate regions of both the utricular and saccular maculae.

Acoustic Maculae↗
PubMed1999

Human ocular counterrolling during roll-tilt and centrifugation.

To test a hypothesis about how otoliths resolve roll-tilts from translations, we measured human ocular torsion position [ocular counterrolling (OCR)] to maintained linear acceleration stimuli. All subjects (n = 8) were tested in two conditions where the same magnitude of shear along an interaural axis was generated in one of two ways: either by roll-tilt on a tilt-chair in a 1-g environment, or by centripetal linear acceleration during constant velocity rotation 1 m from the axis of rotation on a fixed-chair human centrifuge. The interaural shear to the otoliths was the same for these two conditions, but the dorsoventral shear was different and for all eight subjects the OCR on the centrifuge was significantly greater than the torsion on the tilt-chair, although the resultant angle was in fact smaller on the centrifuge than on the tilt-chair. The results confirm that dorsoventral shear is important for determining OCR. The otoliths may resolve potential stimulus ambiguities between tilts and translations by virtue of the different patterns of interaural and dorsoventral shear that these stimuli generate.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1999

Clinical testing of otolith function.

The subjective visual horizontal and vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials are simple, robust, and reproducible tests of otolith dysfunction that can prove clinically useful diagnostic information in patients with vertigo and other balance disorders. While they appear to have high specificity for unilateral otolith dysfunction, further clinical research will be required to establish their sensitivity.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1999

Vestibulo-ocular reflex pathways in internuclear ophthalmoplegia.

We measured the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) during head impulses in a patient with right-sided internuclear ophthalmoplegia. Head impulses are rapid, passive, high-acceleration, low-amplitude head rotations in the direction of a particular semicircular canal (SCC). Adduction of the right eye was abnormally slow during right lateral SCC head impulses. The VOR during left posterior SCC impulses was severely deficient in both eyes, but the VOR during left anterior SCC impulses was only slightly deficient. We suggest that the vertical vestibulo-ocular pathways in humans are connected in SCC-plane coordinates, not the traditional roll and pitch coordinates, and that anterior SCC signals do not travel exclusively in the medial longitudinal fasciculus.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Vertical eye position-dependence of the human vestibuloocular reflex during passive and active yaw head rotations.

Vertical eye position-dependence of the human vestibuloocular reflex during passive and active yaw head rotations. The effect of vertical eye-in-head position on the compensatory eye rotation response to passive and active high acceleration yaw head rotations was examined in eight normal human subjects. The stimuli consisted of brief, low amplitude (15-25 degrees ), high acceleration (4,000-6,000 degrees /s2) yaw head rotations with respect to the trunk (peak velocity was 150-350 degrees /s). Eye and head rotations were recorded in three-dimensional space using the magnetic search coil technique. The input-output kinematics of the three-dimensional vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) were assessed by finding the difference between the inverted eye velocity vector and the head velocity vector (both referenced to a head-fixed coordinate system) as a time series. During passive head impulses, the head and eye velocity axes aligned well with each other for the first 47 ms after the onset of the stimulus, regardless of vertical eye-in-head position. After the initial 47-ms period, the degree of alignment of the eye and head velocity axes was modulated by vertical eye-in-head position. When fixation was on a target 20 degrees up, the eye and head velocity axes remained well aligned with each other. However, when fixation was on targets at 0 and 20 degrees down, the eye velocity axis tilted forward relative to the head velocity axis. During active head impulses, the axis tilt became apparent within 5 ms of the onset of the stimulus. When fixation was on a target at 0 degrees, the velocity axes remained well aligned with each other. When fixation was on a target 20 degrees up, the eye velocity axis tilted backward, when fixation was on a target 20 degrees down, the eye velocity axis tilted forward. The findings show that the VOR compensates very well for head motion in the early part of the response to unpredictable high acceleration stimuli-the eye position- dependence of the VOR does not become apparent until 47 ms after the onset of the stimulus. In contrast, the response to active high acceleration stimuli shows eye position-dependence from within 5 ms of the onset of the stimulus. A model using a VOR-Listing's law compromise strategy did not accurately predict the patterns observed in the data, raising questions about how the eye position-dependence of the VOR is generated. We suggest, in view of recent findings, that the phenomenon could arise due to the effects of fibromuscular pulleys on the functional pulling directions of the rectus muscles.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1999

Time constant of nystagmus slow-phase velocity to yaw-axis rotation as a function of the severity of unilateral caloric paresis.

OBJECTIVE: Complete unilateral loss of vestibular function results in a phase advance (reduced time constant) of the horizontal slow-phase nystagmus response to yaw-axis rotation. The objective of this study was to determine whether partial losses of lateral semicircular canal function would result in proportional reductions in the time constant. SETTING AND STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective study of consecutive patients' records at two tertiary referral centers for vestibular disorders. PATIENTS: Four hundred fifty-four patients who presented for evaluation of vertigo or imbalance or both and who were found to have partial or complete unilateral canal paresis on caloric testing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In 372 patients, the gain and time constant of the horizontal nystagmus response was measured using a 5-second velocity ramp of constant yaw-axis acceleration. Caloric responses to standard bithermal irrigations at 30 degrees and 44 degrees were obtained using an open-loop irrigation system. In a second group of 82 patients, the gain and time constant of the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex were measured using a sum-of-sines (pseudorandom) yaw-axis acceleration. The caloric response was measured using a closed-loop system. RESULTS: In both groups, the peak gain of the nystagmus response was independent of the level of the canal paresis. However, the time constant of the response both toward and away from the lesioned side decreased proportionally with increasing canal paresis. CONCLUSION: This result supports the hypothesis that bilateral symmetrical peripheral vestibular input is a necessary condition for the mechanisms or processes underlying normal horizontal slow-phase velocity storage.

Caloric Tests↗