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Two-dimensional coding of linear acceleration and the angular velocity sensitivity of the otolith system.

There exist otolith-sensitive vestibular nuclei neurons with spatio-temporal properties that can be described by two response vectors that are in temporal and spatial quadrature. These neurons respond to the component of a stimulus vector on a plane rather than a single axis. It is demonstrated here that these "two-dimensional" linear accelerometer neurons can function as one-dimensional angular velocity detectors. The two-dimensional property in both space and time allows these neurons to encode the component of the stimulus angular velocity vector that is normal to the plane defined by the two response vectors. The angular velocity vector in space can then be reconstructed by three populations of such neurons having linearly independent response planes. Thus, we propose that these two-dimensional spatio-temporal linear accelerometer neurons, in addition to participating in functions of the otolith system that are based on detection of linear acceleration, are also involved in the generation of compensatory ocular responses during off-vertical axis rotations.

Acceleration↗

Visual modulation of neuronal activity within the rat vestibular nuclei.

Sixty-two of 95 units within the vestibular nuclei of 24 hooded, Long-Evans rats were found to respond to both linear accelerations on a parallel swing and to linear movements of the visual field. The addition of visual clues during periods of linear accelerations produced a phase shift in the majority of the units towards the maximal acceleration of the animal, and an increase in the peak activity during the periods of maximal acceleration. Conflicting visual-vestibular stimulation resulted in reduced directional sensitivity and lower rates of firing in visually sensitive units.

Animals↗

Scarpa's ganglion in the cat one year after labyrinthectomy.

One year after membraneous labyrinthectomy in three cats a quantitative analysis of neurons in Scarpa's ganglion was performed under the light microscope. Total numbers of neurons were found 30% lower than in the respective contralateral ears. Although remaining perikarya showed signs of degeneration, such as shrinkage and vacuoles the proportions of large and small neurons remained unchanged after this procedure.

Animals↗

Intracellular recordings from Deiters' neurons in response to saccular and oculomotor nucleus stimulations.

2 populations of cells were found in the Deiters' nucleus responsive to direct electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral saccule. Only those Deiters' neurons activated monosynaptically from the saccule could be driven antidromically from the oculomotor nucleus. Such an intracellular study provides strong evidence for a tri-neuronal arc in the sacculo-ocular reflex for vertical eye movements.

Action Potentials↗

[Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials].

The recording of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials is a relatively new neuro-otologic method which gives specific information about the function of the sacculus and the inferior vestibular nerve on each side separately. The main indications for this method are vestibular schwannoma and fistula of the labyrinth, involvement of the sacculus or the inferior vestibular nerve in Menière's disease and vestibular neuritis, vertigo of unknown etiology, and forensic questions.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Dynamic visual acuity during passive and self-generated transient head rotation in normal and unilaterally vestibulopathic humans.

To determine whether dynamic visual acuity (DVA) during head rotations on the stationary body can lateralize unilateral vestibular deafferentation and detect non-labyrinthine compensation mechanisms, 15 normal and 11 subjects with unilateral vestibular deafferentation underwent manually imposed and self-generated transient yaw head rotations during measurement of binocular DVA. DVA was measured by a four-alternative, forced choice, staircase procedure with optotype presentation only when head velocity exceeded thresholds of 50 degree or 75 degree/s. Eye and head movements were recorded using search coils to characterize ocular motor strategies. During directionally unpredictable, manually imposed contralesional rotation, unilaterally deafferented subjects had decreases in DVA from the static condition of 0.36 +/- 0.22 and 0.47 +/- 0.53 log of the minimum angle resolvable (logMAR, mean +/- SD), respectively, for 50 degree and 75 degree/s thresholds, not significantly greater than those of normal subjects (0.26 +/- 0.13 and 0.36 +/- 0.14, P>0.05). However, during manually imposed ipsilesional rotation, vestibulopathic subjects had decreases in DVA of 0.66 +/- 0.36 and 1.08 +/- 0.47 logMAR, significantly greater than during contralesional rotation ( P<0.01). The DVA reduction difference for the ipsi- and contralesional directions was less during self-generated than during manually imposed head rotations. The directional difference for manually administered head rotations yielded a robust diagnostic measure with essentially no overlap in performance with normal subjects. Diagnostic performance for DVA during self-generated head rotation was poorer. Recordings of eye and head movements made using search coils during DVA testing confirmed a deficient vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) during ipsilesional rotation, with most unilaterally vestibulopathic subjects employing predictive smooth eye movements and vestibular catch-up saccades. Measurement of DVA during transient head rotation on the body thus reliably can detect and lateralize vestibular pathology and compensatory mechanisms. Extravestibular mechanisms for compensation appear more effective during self-generated than manually imposed head rotations.

Adolescent↗

Distal effects in a model of proximal axonopathy: 3,3'-iminodipropionitrile causes specific loss of neurofilaments in rat vestibular afferent endings.

3,3'-Iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) is a neurotoxic compound that causes both a proximal neurofilamentous axonopathy and loss of the vestibular sensory hair cells. We used immunocytochemistry to examine changes in the expression of heavy, medium and light neurofilament (NF-H, NF-M, NF-L) proteins in the afferent terminals of vestibular sensory epithelia after IDPN exposure in rats. Acute, repeated and subchronic IDPN exposure induced a marked loss of NFs in the nerve terminals. The effect of subchronic IDPN was specific, as demonstrated by comparison with the synaptic membrane protein SNAP-25. In addition, Western blot analysis indicated specific loss of NFs in the vestibular receptors. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that afferent endings in the vestibular receptors were significantly preserved in animals exposed to subchronic IDPN, but that these endings showed NF segregation from microtubules followed by NF loss. These effects were closely paralleled by ultrastructural changes in the nerve terminals, particularly in the afferent contacts with the hair cells, and preceded hair cell loss. Thus, distal NF loss and nerve terminal pathology occur in the IDPN model of proximal neurofilamentous axonopathy. Similar distal pathology could also occur in human diseases characterized by proximal axonal swellings, particularly in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Animals↗

Improvement of postural control in patients with peripheral vestibulopathy.

We present here the results of a short-term prospective study on a group of 37 patients with persistent unsteadiness. The treatment of these patients was customized according to the results of the Sensory Organization Test carried out using computerized dynamic posturography. A 5-week period of instrumental rehabilitation was established involving visual biofeedback-based computerized balance intervention that manipulated the individuals' capacities, the goals of the tasks and the environmental context. Exercises were performed twice weekly. This adaptation of the treatment was based on the hypothesis that it would reduce the level of disability and handicap associated with the unsteadiness suffered by these patients. Of the patients, 73% improved their status according to the DHI results. Furthermore, in the group of patients that showed an improvement in the DHI, their SOT composite score increased significantly, their reaction time reduced and their sway velocity, endpoint excursion, maximum excursion and directional control all increased. However, for those patients who did not experience a significant improvement or who recorded an increase in the total DHI score, the modifications in the SOT and LOS tests were not significant.

Adult↗

Walk-rotate-walk test identifies patients responding to Lempert's maneuver, with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the horizontal canal.

Two hundred and fifteen patients were diagnosed and treated for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the horizontal canal (BPPV-HC). All patients were tested with conventional positional nystagmus tests lying supine and rotating head for geotropic nystagmus, registered with Frenzels glasses, and in 109 cases with ENG. The walk-rotate-walk (WRW) test, developed by one of us (T.R.) and described in the text, was applied to all patients. The immediate good treatment results with Lempert's maneuver verify the correct diagnosis of BPPV-HC. The WRW test is a more sensitive test for BPPV-HC than earlier positional tests. The unhabituated acute phase of vestibular neuritis shows positive test results and must be eliminated with caloric tests. The WRW test identifies as a dynamic test patients with symptoms of even lesser magnitude, where the compensatory capacity of the equilibrium system suppresses the diagnostic findings with earlier positional horizontal canal tests.

Adolescent↗

Recovery of the high-acceleration vestibulo-ocular reflex after vestibular neuritis.

Vestibular neuritis (VN) usually leads to a sudden gain asymmetry of the high-acceleration horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). We asked whether this asymmetry decreases over time indicating peripheral recovery and/or central compensation. The horizontal VOR during rapid rotational head impulses to both sides was recorded with search coils in 37 patients at different time periods (1-240 weeks) after the onset of VN. In ten patients, sequential measurements were performed. Gains of the VOR during head impulses toward the ipsilesional side significantly increased after the initial drop (average gains: < 1 week: 0.35; 1-4 weeks: 0.33; 4-40 weeks: 0.55; 40-240 weeks: 0.50). Gains on the contralesional side, however, were only slightly reduced and showed no significant change. We conclude that, in contrast to patients after hemilabyrinthectomy or unilateral vestibular neurectomy, the ocular response to ipsilesional rotations in patients after VN improves over time. This finding suggests that ipsilesional recovery is peripheral or, if central, depends on spared peripheral function. The physiology of linear and nonlinear VOR pathways predicts a considerable gain reduction for contralesional head impulses if central compensation mechanisms are not engaged. Thus, the relatively preserved gain on the contralesional side can be explained only by central "upregulation". Apparently, for high accelerations of the head, effective central compensation after VN does not aim to balance the gains of the VOR but tries to boost the contralesional gain close to normal.

Acceleration↗

Head-shaking nystagmus depends on gravity.

In acute unilateral peripheral vestibular deficit, horizontal spontaneous nystagmus (SN) increases when patients lie on their affected ear. This phenomenon indicates an ipsilesional reduction of otolith function that normally suppresses asymmetric semicircular canal signals. We asked whether head-shaking nystagmus (HSN) in patients with chronic unilateral vestibular deficit following vestibular neuritis is influenced by gravity in the same way as SN in acute patients. Using a three-dimensional (3-D) turntable, patients (N = 7) were placed in different whole-body positions along the roll plane and oscillated (1 Hz, +/-10 degrees ) about their head-fixed vertical axis. Eye movements were recorded with 3-D magnetic search coils. HSN was modulated by gravity: When patients lay on their affected ear, slow-phase eye velocity significantly increased upon head shaking and consisted of a horizontal drift toward the affected ear (average: 1.2 degrees /s +/-0.5 SD), which was added to the gravity-independent and directionally nonspecific SN. In conclusion, HSN in patients with chronic unilateral peripheral vestibular deficit is best elicited when they are lying on their affected ear. This suggests a gravity-dependent mechanism similar to the one observed for SN in acute patients, i.e., an asymmetric suppression of vestibular nystagmus by the unilaterally impaired otolith organs.

Adult↗

Caloric and search-coil head-impulse testing in patients after vestibular neuritis.

The objective of this study was to compare results of quantitative head-impulse testing using search coils with eye-movement responses to caloric irrigation in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction after vestibular neuritis. The study population consisted of an acute group (<3 days; N = 10; 5 male, 5 female; 26-89 years old) and a chronic group (>2 months; N = 14; 8 male, 6 female; 26-78 years old) of patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction after vestibular neuritis. The testing battery included: (1) simultaneous measurement of eye and head rotations with search coils in a magnetic coil frame during passive Halmagyi-Curthoys head-impulse testing and (2) electronystagmography during bilateral monaural 44 degrees C-warm and 30 degrees C-cold caloric irrigation. The main outcome measures were (1) the gain of the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex during search-coil head-impulse testing and (2) the amount of canal paresis during caloric irrigation. All acute and chronic patients had a unilateral gain reduction during search-coil head-impulse testing. A pathological canal paresis factor was present in 100% of the acute patients but in only 64% of the chronic patients. The clinically suspected unilateral vestibular hypofunction resulting from vestibular neuritis was validated in all acute patients by both search-coil head-impulse and caloric testing. Hence, either of these tests is sufficient for diagnosis in the acute phase of vestibular neuritis. Chronic patients, however, were reliably identified only by search-coil head-impulse testing, which suggests that the low-frequency function of the labyrinths often becomes symmetrical, leading to a normal canal paresis factor.

Acute Disease↗

Influence of ATP and ATP agonists on the physiology of the isolated semicircular canal of the frog (Rana pipiens).

In the present study, the influence of extracellular ATP and ATP agonists in the physiology of the vestibular organs was examined, using the in vitro model of the isolated semicircular canal of the frog (Rana pipiens). The firing activity of the afferent nerve, the d.c. nerve potential and the transepithelial potential were measured in the absence and presence of mechanical stimulation of the sensory epithelium. Administration of ATP into the perilymphatic compartment, from 10(-12) to 10(-3) M, increased the firing rate of the afferent fibers recorded in the absence of mechanical stimulation. Recordings of the d.c. nerve potential indicated that the afferent fibers were hyperpolarized. The presence of the purine also modified the transepithelial potential. During mechanical stimulation of the sensory epithelium, both the evoked afferent firing and the evoked variation of the d.c. nerve potential were reduced in the presence of ATP. However, ATP did not effect the evoked modulation of the transepithelial potential, evoked by the mechanical stimulation. Administration of the P2x purinoceptor agonists, alpha, beta-methylene-ATP and beta, gamma-methylene-ATP, at concentrations between 10(-12) and 10(-3) M, did not significantly modify the different bioelectrical activities investigated. In contrast, 2-methylthio-ATP, a P2y purinoceptor agonist, more potent and efficacious than ATP in its effect on the spontaneous firing. Concurrently, no modification of the d.c. nerve potential, the transepithelial potential and their variation during mechanical stimulation was observed. In opposition to the ATP effect, the total amplitude of the evoked firing was increased in the presence of 2-methylthio-ATP. These data suggest that extracellular ATP, present in the perilymphatic compartment, may act as a neuromodulator in the vestibular physiology. The effects of the purine appear to be mediated by the activation of a P2y subtype of purinoceptor. The absence of an effect of ATP and 2-methylthio-ATP on the evoked variation of the transepithelial potential suggest that the purine did not affect the processes responsible for the generation of the receptor potential but more likely modified the mechanisms involved in the release of the neurotransmitter from the hair cells and/or acted on the afferent endings.

Action Potentials↗