Evaluation of the vertical semicircular canal function by the pendular rotation test: a study on patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

The pendular rotation test (non-damped) in a head-tilted position, 60 degrees backward and then rotated 45 degrees either to the right or left, was performed in 6 patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The stimulus mode was amplitude = 360 degrees, frequency = 0.1 Hz, and the maximal speed = 114 degrees/s. By this test procedure, it was possible to evaluate the excitability of vertical semicircular canals. Using an infra-red CCD camera and a personal computer system, the evoked nystagmus was analysed. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in the maximal slow-phase eye velocity of vertical nystagmus was found between those from the anterior semicircular canal and those from the posterior semicircular canal. The excitability of the posterior semicircular canal in the affected ear was found to be lower than that of the anterior semicircular canal.