The mouse has become an important model system for studying the cellular basis of learning and coding of heading by the vestibular system. Here we recorded from single neurons in the vestibular nuclei to understand how vestibular pathways encode self-motion under natural conditions, during which proprioceptive and motor-related signals as well as vestibular inputs provide feedback about an anim...

Electrical or natural stimulation of the vestibular system results in changes in blood pressure and respiratory motor output. An increase in excitatory drive on the sympathetic nervous system occurs during nose-up vestibular stimulation in cats; this response is appropriate to offset orthostatic hypotension that could result from nose-up body rotations during movements such as vertical climbing...

To answer Alsmith’s questions about the existence of a vestibular sense, we outline in the first part of our reply why we believe the vestibular sense is a true “sixth sense”. We argue that vestibular information constitutes distinct sensory events and that absolute coding of body orientation and motion in the gravitycentered space is the important unique feature of the vestibular system. In th...

PURPOSE The vestibular system is the part of the inner ear responsible for balance. Vertigo and dizziness are generally caused by vestibular disorders and are very common symptoms in people over 60 years old. One of the most efficient treatments at the moment is vestibular rehabilitation, permitting to improve the symptoms. However, this rehabilitation therapy is a highly empirical process, whi...

“How many senses do you have?” Most of us would probably respond with the traditional five senses we were taught in school: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. However, there is an additional sensory modality that is essential in almost all our behaviours. The vestibular system is a sophisticated set of organs located in the inner ear. It comprises the semicircular canals, which detect rota...

Introduction Exposure to music is the subject of many studies because it is related to an individual's professional and social activities. Objectives Evaluate the vestibular behavior in military band musicians. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed. Nineteen musicians with ages ranging from 21 to 46 years were evaluated (average = 33.7 years and standard deviation = 7.2 ye...

Introduction The vestibular system, which provides a signal of head motion to the brain, mediates functions of gaze and postural stabilisation via vestibular-ocular (VOR) and vestibular-spinal reflexes. The vestibular system is also key in generating sensations of selfmotion and spatial orientation required for navigation in the environment. The vestibular system influences these reflex and per...

HYPOTHESIS The purpose of this study was to investigate the expected functional and morphologic effect of gentamicin on the vestibular system simultaneously by measurement of vestibular evoked potentials and electron microscopic evaluation. BACKGROUND Vestibular short-latency evoked potentials to linear acceleration have been shown to be a useful parameter of vestibular function. In gentamici...

Effort towards the development of a vestibular implant for human use are being made. This paper will summarize the first important steps conducted in Geneva towards this ambitious goal. Basically, we have faced three major issues. First, an ethical issue. While it was clear that such development would require the collaboration of human volunteers, it was also clear that stimulation of the vesti...

The vestibular system is a sensory system that is critically important in humans for gaze and image stability as well as postural control. Patients with complete bilateral vestibular loss are severely disabled and experience a poor quality of life. There are very few effective treatment options for patients with no vestibular function. Over the last 10 years, rapid progress has been made in dev...