The Vestibular System : Function and Morphology

Vestibular physiology has acquired new interest in the past few years. The development of fast aircraft, beginning during the Second World War and continuing through modern supersonic jets and space travel, has increased dramatically the acceleration range to which man is subjected, from prolonged weightlessness to several gs. The labyrinth measures all kinds of acceleration, including gravity. and therefore has taken on particular impor­ tance in the study of human health in the Space Age. It is understandable. then, that NASA sponsored the Symposium on Vestibular Function and Morphology. a satellite of the Eighth Annual Meeting of the Society of Neuroscience. held October 30-November 1. 1978, at the University of Pittsburgh, which also supported the symposium. The present volume was developed from papers originally presented there. My strategy in editing this book has been to focus upon the vestibular end organ and its direct connections. both peripheral and central, in order to as­ sure a coherent discussion of the basics of vestibular function, structure, and ultrastructure. Fortunately, it was possible to secure the contributions of a number of outstanding investigators from both the United States and abroad, including functionally oriented morphologists. ultrastructuralists, biophysicists, and vestibular physiologists. The result is a comprehensive discussion of the main mechanisms of the labyrinth: the transduction pro­ cess at the receptor level, in the semicircular canals, and in the utricular and saccular maculae; the information transfer through neuronal pathways to the nuclei and the cerebellum; and the general organization of the system. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Structure of the Vestibular Sensory Epithelia....Pages 3-37 The Afferent and Efferent Vestibular Pathways: Morphologic Aspects....Pages 38-63 Otolith Organ Receptor Morphology in Herring-like Fishes....Pages 64-76 Is the Growth of the Otolith Controlled by Its Weight?....Pages 77-87 Morphologic Observations of Human Otoconial Membranes....Pages 88-100 Vestibular Nuclei: Neuronal Loss in Mice with Otoconial Agenesis and Evidence of Right-Left Asymmetry....Pages 101-119 Central Projections to the Vestibular Nuclei From the Subparafascicular Region of the Rabbit....Pages 120-129 Vestibular Projections to the Monkey Thalamus and Rostral Mesencephalon: An Autoradiographic Study....Pages 130-143 Ionic Mechanisms in the Vestibular Apparatus: The Resting State....Pages 144-159 Centrally Originating Efferent Terminals on Hair Cells: Fact or Fancy?....Pages 160-183 Front Matter....Pages 185-185 Thick and Thin Mammalian Vestibular Axons: Afferent and Efferent Response Characteristics....Pages 187-205 Semicircular Canal Morphology and Function in Crabs....Pages 206-224 Front Matter....Pages 225-225 Functional Characteristics of Central Vestibular Neurons....Pages 227-250 The Influence of Duct and Utricular Morphology on Semicircular Canal Response....Pages 251-274 Mechanical Properties of Sensory Hairs in the Semicircular Canal Crista....Pages 275-279 A Species Comparison of Linear and Nonlinear Transfer Characteristics of Primary Afferents Innervating the Semicircular Canal....Pages 280-316 The Origin and Functional Significance of the Resting Activity and Peripheral Adaptation in the Vestibular System....Pages 317-328 Variability of the Spontaneous Firing Rate of Vestibular Receptors in a Stable, Controlled Bullfrog Preparation....Pages 329-336 The Comparative Sensitivity of Selected Receptor Systems....Pages 337-348 Horizontal Canal Afferent Dynamics Measured Using White Noise and Cross Spectral Analysis....Pages 349-355 Front Matter....Pages 225-225 Analysis of Horizontal Canal Afferent Dynamics Using White Noise and Sinusoids in the Barbiturate Anesthetized Cat....Pages 356-366 The Response of Primary Semicircular Canal Neurons to Angular Accelerations of Varying Magnitude....Pages 367-373 Dynamic Properties from Utricular Afferents....Pages 374-389 Front Matter....Pages 391-391 Visual and Vestibular Influences in Human Self-Motion Perception....Pages 393-424 Vestibular Neuron Response Alteration with Repeated Angular Acceleration....Pages 425-442 Responses of Neurons in the Vestibular Nuclei of Awake Squirrel Monkeys During Linear Acceleration....Pages 443-451 Visual Modulation of Otolith Responses: A Paradigm for the Study of Self-Motion Perception and Its Neural Substrate....Pages 452-462 Cerebellectomy in Goldfish Prevents Adaptive Gain Control of the VOR without Affecting the Optokinetic System....Pages 463-477 Vestibular Nuclei Activity and Nystagmus in the Alert Monkey and Their Relation to Optokinetic and Vestibular Stimulation....Pages 478-490 The Influences of Head Orientation and Bilateral Semicircular Canal Plugs upon the Vertical Vestibuloocular Reflex of the Rabbit....Pages 491-508 Ewald’s Second Law of Labyrinthine Function and the Vestibuloocular Reflex....Pages 509-524 A Model for Visual-Vestibular Interaction....Pages 525-534 Back Matter....Pages 535-548