Citation

Ito Y, Corna S, von Brevern M, Bronstein A, Rothwell J, Gresty M. J. Physiol. 1995; 489(Pt 3): 911-916.

Affiliation

Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, The Physiological Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8788954

PMCID

PMC1156859

Abstract

1. EMG responses from sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and orbicularis oculi were recorded in subjects who lay supine with their heads cradled in a sling. When the sling released abruptly, their heads fell freely. Normal and bilateral labyrinthine-defective subjects (LDs) were studied. 2. The normal response in SCM was a small burst of excitation at 22-25 ms latency, of 18 ms duration. This merged into a larger, later burst. The drop also produced eye blinks at 22-38 ms. 3. The onset of the SCM response in LDs was delayed (56-73 ms) even though the latency of their eye blinks was normal. 4. We conclude that the early response at approximately 22 ms in normal subjects is mediated by a vestibulocollic reflex. The delayed activity in LDs may be a stretch reflex. This is the first demonstration of the latency of the vestibulocollic pathway to natural stimulation in man.

Language: en