Vestibular System Part 2: Psychophysics, Applied Aspects and General Interpretations (Handbook of Sensory Physiology, 6 / 2)

The function of the vestibular system is not as obvious as those of vision, hearing, touch or smell. Vestibular dysfunction, however, is clearly apparent where lesions are present. It is probably for this reason that the vestibular sense was not discovered until the nineteenth century and that clinicians have continued to playa major role in basic vestibular research right up to the present. The relationship between basic and clinical research is certainly stronger in the vesti­ bular field than in that of tactile sensation, for instance, as testified by the work of clinicians as MENIERE, BREUER, BARANY, DEKLEIJN and FRENZEL. In this respect the situation is similar in vestibular physiology and in endocrinology, and for the same reason. This second part of the vestibular volume of the Handbook of Sensory Physio­ logy will be of interest to neurologists, otologists, neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists and physiotherapists on the one hand, and psychologists, physiologists, engineers and aviation specialists on the other. For a full understanding of Part 2, it is necessary to have assimilated the basic anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry of Part 1. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Psychophysics of Vestibular Sensation....Pages 3-154 Optic-Vestibular Orientation to the Vertical....Pages 155-190 Front Matter....Pages 191-191 Nystagmus and Related Phenomena in Man: An Outline of Otoneurology....Pages 193-232 Measurement of Otolith Function in Man....Pages 233-266 Measurement of Vestibulo-Spinal Responses in Man....Pages 267-280 Modification of the Response to Angular Accelerations by Linear Accelerations....Pages 281-320 Vestibular Ataxia and its Measurement in Man....Pages 321-360 Arousal and Vestibular Habituation....Pages 361-368 Habituation of Vestibular Responses with and without Visual Stimulation....Pages 369-388 Motion Sickness....Pages 389-411 Pathology of Vestibular Sensation....Pages 413-450 Characteristics of Vestibular Neurons after Acute and Chronic Labyrinthine Destruction....Pages 451-462 Compensation of Vestibular Lesions....Pages 463-490 Front Matter....Pages 491-491 A Systems Concept of the Vestibular Organs....Pages 493-580 The Vestibular System and the General Motor System....Pages 581-620 Back Matter....Pages 621-683