Survival of function in the deafferentated vestibular nerve.
After it has been deafferentated, spontaneous spike activity in the vestibular nerve is not abolished, but is drastically reduced 1-3 months post-op. If the nerve stump is cut again in the compensated animal, similarly directed postural asymmetries are re-induced, although of milder intensity. Electrical stimulation of the vestibular nerve stump evokes monosynaptic excitation in the vestibular nuclei and a vestibulo-ocular reflex at normal thresholds despite partial degeneration in the nerve. Therefore, the deafferentated nerve is capable of exerting compensatory influences upon the central nervous system.
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D005133:Eye Movements; D005724:Ganglia / Q000502:physiology; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology; D012023:Reflex, Monosynaptic; D014725:Vestibular Nerve / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology*