Artigo Revisado por pares

Tapping the head activates the vestibular system

1995; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 45; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1212/wnl.45.10.1927

ISSN

1526-632X

Autores

G. Michael Halmagyi, R.A. Yavor, James G. Colebatch,

Tópico(s)

Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience

Resumo

We investigated the use of skull taps with a modified clinical reflex hammer as a method of vestibular activation.Using recently described EMG techniques to measure vestibulocollic reflexes in response to clicks, we were able to show analogous short-latency potentials to taps. The earliest responses were invariably absent on the side of a previous vestibular nerve section but were preserved in profound sensorineural or conductive hearing loss. We propose that the taps activated the vestibular apparatus directly by a bone-conducted vibration wave. NEUROLOGY 1995;45: 1927-1929

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