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Summary: JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOL~GY RAPID PUBLICATION
Vol. 68, No. 5, November 1992. Printed in U.S.A.
Role of Irregular Otolith Merents in the Steady-State Nystagmus
During Off-Vertical Axis Rotation
DORA E. ANGELAKI, ADRIAN A. PERACHIO, MICHAEL J. MUSTARI, AND CHESTER L. STRUNK
Departments of Otolaryngology, Physiology and Biophysics, Anatomy and Neuroscience,
and the Marine Biomedical Institute, University of Texas lMedica1 Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
I. During constant velocity off-vertical axis rotations (OVAR)
in the dark a compensatory ocular nystagmus is present through-
out rotation despite the lack of a maintained signal from the semi-
circular canals. Lesion experiments and canal plugging have attrib
uted the steady-state ocular nystagmus during OVAR to inputs
from the otolith organs and have demonstrated that it depends on
an intact velocity storage mechanism.
2. To test whether irregularly discharging otolith afferents play
a crucial role in the generation of the steady-state eye nystagmus
during OVAR, we have used anodal (inhibitory) currents bilater-
ally to selectively and reversibly block irregular vestibular afferent
discharge. During delivery of DC anodal currents ( 100PA) bilater-
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