Directional Imbalance of Vestibular Nystagmus in cat Following Repeated Unidirectional Angular Acceleration

Abstract

Cats were subjected to schedules of angular accelerations to determine if a marked nystagmic habituation to accelerations of one direction would “transfer” and thus cause a reduced nystagmus to accelerations of the opposite direction. All testing was in total darkness and animals were maintained in a state of continuous arousal with d-amphetamine. It was found that habituation does not transfer, that nystagmus in the untested direction remains undiminished, and that a directional imbalance is the result.