A method for evaluating vestibular control of posture.
Tests that measure the patient's ability to control his posture generally have failed to yield clinically useful information about vestibular function. The primary reason for this failure is that postural control does not depend on vestibular function when visual and proprioceptive cues are available. To test vestibular function, one should use a procedure that forces the patient to rely on vestibular cues by eliminating cues from these other sensory systems. Such a procedure is described. Vision is eliminated by eye closure, and proprioceptive cues are minimized by rotating the supporting surface to null changes in ankle angle. Data are presented which show that postural responses are complex, but that they appear to conform to the pattern originally observed by Nashner. A method potentially capable of separately evaluating semicircular canal and otolith function is described.
D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000502:physiology; D003201:Computers; D003463:Cues; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology; D009333:Neck / Q000502:physiology; D011187:Posture; D011434:Proprioception; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014785:Vision, Ocular