Abstract
Evaluation of depressed or impaired prone extension, equilibrium, muscle tone, cocontraction, gravitational security, and tolerance to movement are frequently used as clinical signs of vestibular dysfunction. This study sought to determine if controlled laboratory tests of visual-vestibular function would discriminate between normal subjects and a group of adult subjects with a majority of the clinical signs identified above. Vestibular nystagmus, elicited under dark conditions using a computerized rotary chair, was recorded using electronystagmography. The adults with suspected vestibular dysfunction were found to have depressed Scores, indicative of deficits in tonic processing of vestibular inputs within the brainstem. The score found to be the best discriminator between normal subjects and those with suspected impairment was the duration of postrotary nystagmus. Results were interpreted as supportive of a relationship between vestibular processing and learning/motor coordination deficits, and provided support for the validity of symptoms identified through clinical assessment.
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