No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The otolith organs (the saccule and utricle) are located in the inner ear and sense linear acceleration, head tilt, and gravity. Recently, the vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) and the subjective visual vertical (SVV) have been described as clinical tests for otolith function. VEMPs are short latency electromyograms (EMG) evoked by high-level acoustic and vibratory stimuli recorded from surface electrodes over the tonically contracted SCM muscles (cervical VEMP) or extra-ocular muscles (ocular VEMP). The SVV is a psychophysical measure of the angle between perceptual vertical and true (gravitational) vertical and can be measured during unilateral centrifugation (off-axis eccentric rotation). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the clinical use and recent developments of the cervical VEMP, ocular VEMP, and SVV as tests of saccular and utricular function.

No description available.

The two otolith organs (the saccule and utricle) are positioned perpendicular to each other and sense linear acceleration, head tilt, and gravity, with the primary role of providing input to the vestibulospinal reflex for postural stability. The vestibulospinal reflex serves to modulate posture via two descending pathways that aid in tonic contractions of the antigravity muscles in the arms and legs (lateral vestibulospinal tract) and activate neck motoneurons for the coordination of neck and eye movements (medial vestibulospinal tract). The lateral vestibulospinal tract receives the majority of its input from the otoliths and the cerebellum, whereas the medial vestibulospinal tract receives the majority of its input from the semicircular canals.

Excerpt: Recently, clinical vestibular tests have been developed for assessing otolith function. Little is known about treatment for otolith dysfunction, and this case report offers a perspective on using otolith stimulation to treat vestibular loss.