Cervico-vestibular interaction in eye movements.

The cervico-vestibular interaction was investigated in normal subjects and patients with unilateral labyrinthine dysfunction using neck vibratory stimulation and caloric stimulation. There is a functional interaction between sensory inputs from the neck proprioceptors and the peripheral labyrinth in the patients with unilateral labyrinthine dysfunction. However, this interaction was not observed in normal subjects. This result indicates that the role of the cervical sensory inputs in normal subjects and the patients is different. That is, inputs from the neck proprioceptors have little effect on the control of eye movements in normal subjects, whereas the neck inputs are quite important for the control of eye movements in patients with unilateral labyrinthine dysfunction.