The Otolith Reactions

A revised dynamic otolith model.

Otolith deprivation induces optokinetic compensation.

According to the multisensory integration theory vestibular, optokinetic and proprioceptive inputs act in concert to maintain a stable retinal image of the visual world. Yet, it remains elusive to what extent the otolith organs contribute to this process and whether a specific loss of otolith input is compensated for. Here we investigated the compensatory eye movements in tilted mice, which lac...

Motion sickness induced by otolith stimulation is correlated with otolith-induced eye movements.

This article addresses the relationships between motion sickness (MS) and three-dimensional (3D) ocular responses during otolith stimulation. A group of 19 healthy subjects was tested for motion sickness during a 16 min otolith stimulation induced by off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR) (constant velocity 60 degrees /s, frequency 0.16 Hz). For each subject, the MS induced during the session was qu...

Otolith endorgan input to the Mauthner neuron in the goldfish.

The Mauthner (M-) cell of the goldfish, Carassius auratus, triggers the rapid escape response of the fish in response to various stimuli, including visual and auditory. The large size and accessibility of the M-cell make it an ideal model system for the study of synaptic transmission, membrane properties, and sensory-motor gating. Although physiological recordings have suggested that afferents ...

Disentangling fluctuating asymmetry from otolith shape

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), defined as random deviations from ideal, perfect symmetry, has been hypothesized to be negatively associated with fitness and positively associated with stress. Fish otoliths deserve special attention in regard to this topic because their FA is relatively easy to measure, unlike the fitness of wild fish themselves. In addition, otoliths are convenient for estimating ...