Journal of Vestibular Research : Equilibrium & Orientation

BACKGROUND: Inertial self-motion perception is thought to depend primarily on otolith cues. Recent evidence demonstrated that vestibular perceptual thresholds (including inertial heading) are adaptable, suggesting novel clinical approaches for treating perceptual impairments resulting from vestibular disease. OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the psychometric properties of perceptual estimates of inertial heading like test-retest reliability. Here we investigate the psychometric properties of a passive inertial heading perceptual test...

BACKGROUND: Patients with vestibular impairment often suffer from postural instability. This could be compensated by other sensory systems such as the auditory system. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether auditory input improves postural stability in patients with abnormal subjective haptic vertical (SHV). METHODS: Participants (n = 13) with normal hearing and vision, but abnormal SHV participated. Participants performed standing on firm ground and foam support (eyes open/closed) and Tandem Romberg test (eyes closed) in quiet (reference), noise and with plugged ears...

BACKGROUND: Our sense of direction (SOD) ability relies on the sensory integration of both visual information and self-motion cues from the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. Here, we assess how dysfunction of the vestibular system impacts perceived SOD in varying vestibular disorders, and secondly, we explore the effects of dizziness, migraine and psychological symptoms on SOD ability in patient and control groups. METHODS: 87 patients with vestibular disorder and 69 control subjects were assessed with validated symptom and SOD questionnaires (Santa Barbara Sense of Direction scale and the Object Perspective test)...

BACKGROUND: The upright head roll test (UHRT) is a recently introduced diagnostic maneuver for lateral semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (LSC-BPPV). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the UHRT. METHODS: Two separate studies were conducted. Study 1 analyzed 827 results of videonystagmography (VNG) to assess UHRT reliability, and Study 2 analyzed 130 LSC-BPPV cases to evaluate UHRT validity...

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The computerized rotational head impulse test (crHIT) uses a computer-controlled rotational chair to deliver whole-body rotational impulses to assess the semicircular canals. The crHIT has only been described for horizontal head plane rotations. The purpose of this study was to describe the crHIT for vertical head plane rotations. In this preliminary study, we assessed four patients with surgically confirmed unilateral peripheral vestibular abnormalities and two control subjects. Results indicated that the crHIT was well-tolerated for both horizontal head plane and vertical head plane stimuli...

OBJECTIVE: In our study, it was aimed to compare vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain and saccade parameters in HIMP and SHIMP tests between gender, right and left ears, and age groups in healthy adults and to examine the correlation between the tests regarding these parameters. METHODS: The study included a total of 100 healthy participants aged 18-65 and without complaints of hearing loss, dizziness, lightheadedness, and/or imbalance. Participants underwent HIMP and SHIMP tests, respectively...

OBJECTIVE: A normal video Head Impulse Test is the gold standard in the emergency department to rule-in patients with an acute vestibular syndrome and a stroke. We aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of vHIT metrics regarding the vestibulo-ocular reflex gain and the corrective saccades in detecting vestibular strokes. METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional study (convenience sample) of patients presenting with acute vestibular syndrome in the emergency department of a tertiary referral centre between February 2015 and May 2020...

AIM: To comprehensively evaluate the dynamic change of vestibular function during long-term follow-up of vestibular neuritis, as well as the co-relationship with the outcomes of vestibular neuritis (VN), which provides the recommendations for vestibular function tests during the course of VN. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 16 patients with acute VN. Caloric test, vHIT, rotatory chair tests, VEMP, dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) score, and dynamic dizzy scales (VAS-DD) was first performed within 7 days of neuritis onset, which were further re-evaluated during the 6- 12 months of follow-up...

BACKGROUND: The technique of measuring ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) in response to Mini-shaker vibration is relatively new, there is a limited normative data to define the presence or absence of a response in the literature. OBJECTIVE: To determine the test-retest reliability of cervical and ocular VEMPs (cVEMP and oVEMP, respectively) to air-conducted sound (ACS) and bone-conducted vibration (BCV) stimulation and to determine normative ranges for the responses...

BACKGROUND: Patients with vestibular loss have reduced wayfinding ability, but the association between vestibular loss and impaired steering spatial navigation is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether vestibular loss is associated with reduced steering navigation performance in a virtual reality (VR) environment containing obstacles. METHODS: 17 ambulatory adults with vestibular loss were age/sex-matched to healthy controls. Participants traversed a VR hallway with obstacles, and their navigation performance was compared using metrics such as collisions, time, total distance travelled, and speed in single and multivariate analysis...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is worsened in a standing posture, or by body movement, or visual stimulation. We aimed to evaluate postural stability in PPPD patients using foam posturography and to investigate the dependence on visual and somatosensory input in the standing posture. METHODS: Foam posturography was performed on 53 PPPD patients, and data from the PPPD patients were compared with the data from an age- and sex-matched healthy controls...

In December 1923, a twelve-day course took place at the University of Zaragoza, specifically at the Faculty of Medicine, given by Professor Róbert Bárány, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1914 for his discoveries on the vestibular apparatus.Professor Robert Bárány came to the faculty at the invitation of Professor Victor Fairén through the University Exchange programme. This course consisted of four lectures and twelve lessons a day in which he presented his knowledge of the physiopathology of the vestibule and cerebellum, as well as practical demonstrations of the physical examination of nystagmus and cerebellar pathology...

BACKGROUND: Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a functional vestibular disorder that causes chronic dizziness and limits daily activities. Although pharmacology, vestibular rehabilitation, and cognitive behavioral therapy have been proposed to have some efficacy, they have certain limitations. Some patients with PPPD report that public square dancing can effectively relieve the symptoms of dizziness and instability, and their mood improves. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of combining public square dancing with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs/SNRIs) on the subjective sensations of dizziness, balance enhancement, anxiety, and depressive symptom regulation in middle-aged and older women with PPPD...

BACKGROUND: Visual vertigo (VV) is a disease characterized by various visual signal-induced discomforts, including dizziness, unsteady balance, activity avoiding, and so forth. Distinguishing it from other kinds of dizziness is important because it needs the combination of visual training and vestibular rehabilitation together. However, there is no appropriate tool to diagnose VV in China, thus we would like to introduce an effective tool to China. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of visual vertigo analogue scale (VVAS-CH) and to achieve its crosscultural adaptation in order to promote its further usage in China...

BACKGROUND: Recent studies implicate the effect of vestibular loss on cognitive decline, including hippocampal volume loss. As hippocampal atrophy is an important biomarker of Alzheimer's disease, exploring vestibular dysfunction as a risk factor for dementia and its role in hippocampal atrophy is of interest. OBJECTIVE: To replicate previous literature on whole-brain and hippocampal volume in semicircular canal dysfunction (bilateral vestibulopathy; BV) and explore the association between otolith function and hippocampal volume...

BACKGROUND: The reproducibility of the effective intensity of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) to improve postural stability is not well known. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate inter-day and intra-day variations in effective intensity in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP). METHODS: Thirteen BVP patients were measured for center-of-pressure movements in the standing posture at five time points: morning of the first test day, morning and evening of the second test day, and morning and evening of the third test day...

BACKGROUND: Machado Joseph Disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease. In previous studies, we described significant bilateral horizontal Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR) deficit within this population without any reference to the presence of vestibular symptomatology. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether, beyond cerebellar ataxia complaints, MJD patients have typical vestibular symptomatology corresponding to the accepted diagnostic criteria of Bilateral Vestibulopathy (BVP) according to the definition of the International Barany Society of Neuro-Otology...

BACKGROUND: Impairment of visual fixation suppression (VS) in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is not well documented. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of impaired VS of caloric nystagmus as an index for differential diagnosis between PSP and Parkinson's disease (PD), which is often difficult, especially in the early stage. METHODS: Subjects comprised 26 PSP patients and 26 PD patients clinically diagnosed at Tokyo Metropolitan Neurological Hospital...

BACKGROUND: The video head impulse test (vHIT) is a common assessment of semicircular canal function during high-speed impulses. Reliability of the vHIT for assessing vertical semicircular canals is uncertain. Vertical head impulses require a complex head movement, making it difficult to isolate a single semicircular canal and interpret resulting eye rotations. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive head kinematics and vestibular stimuli during vertical plane impulses to ultimately improve impulse delivery and interpretation of vHIT results for vertical semicircular canals...