Active Head Turning and Correlated Cerebral Potentials: Experimental and Clinical Aspects

Abstract

Fast voluntary horizontal head movements (n=400, maximum acceleration 8500 deg/sec²) were recorded together with surface EEG over pre- and post-central regions in 30 healthy volunteers while they were gazing at a head-fixed target in darkness. Artifacts of mechanical, myogenic and oculomotor origin could be precluded. Selective averaging of the fastest movements revealed a biphasic cortical potential. Median latency of its onset was 123.5 msec, of its first peak 189 msec, of the second peak 373 msec, with amplitudes ranging around 5.7 μV. Similar recordings in patients with uni- or bilateral vestibular nerve lesions demonstrated that strong stimulation of the joint vestibular and somatosensory (neck afferent) input facilitated characteristically related EEG activity: 1) side differences of vestibular input could be measured on this level of the CNS, i.e. measured on the cortical level as additional information to the commonly used vestibulo-oculomotor response; 2) patients with early, bilateral loss of vestibular functions showed a specific long-term adaptation of their related EEC activity. We conclude that clinical studies of this kind might aid in diagnosis of vertigo and related phenomena.

Key Words:

• natural vestibular stimulation
• evoked brain potentials
• fixation suppression of vestibulo-ocular reflex