Auditory-pupillary responses in deaf subjects.
Pupillary dilation in response to sound stimuli is well established and is generally considered to represent a startle reflex to sound. We believe that the auditory-pupillary response represents not only a simple startle reflex to sound stimuli but also represents a reaction to stimulation of other sense organs, such as otolith organs. Eight young healthy volunteers without a history of hearing and equilibrium problems and 12 subjects with bilateral deafness participated in this study. Computer pupillography was used to analyze the auditory-pupillary responses of both eyes in all subjects. We found that auditory-pupillary responses occurred even in subjects with bilateral deafness and that this response was comparable to those of normal subjects. We propose that the auditory-pupillary response also relates to vestibular function. Thus, assessing the auditory-pupillary response may be useful for evaluating the vestibulo-autonomic response in patients with peripheral disequilibrium.
Kitajima
Naoharu
N
Department of Otolaryngology, Tokyo Medical University, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan. medart@js6.sonet.ne.jp
Otsuka
Koji
K
Ogawa
Yasuo
Y
Shimizu
Shigetaka
S
Hayashi
Mami
M
Ichimura
Akihide
A
Suzuki
Mamoru
M
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003638:Deafness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010037:Otolithic Membrane / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011680:Pupil / Q000502:physiology*; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests / Q000379:methods*