Dynamic and static subjective visual vertical with aging.

OBJECTIVE

Our vestibular function is gradually deteriorating during aging, although, its behavioral consequences are not easily recognized due to a substitution process by other sensory modalities as visual or proprioceptive inputs.

METHODS

To reveal such a hidden substitution process by visual signals, the measurement of the static as well as the dynamic subjective visual vertical (SVV) was performed among 63 healthy subjects of different age.

RESULTS

The static SVV was found to be stable among all subjects, whereas the shift of the dynamic SVV during rotation of a background scene gradually increased with age.

CONCLUSION

This result indicates that the substitution process identified as a function of age in a perceptual test may have its counterpart in postural stabilizing reflex.