Oculomotor Tests of Otolith Function Using Human Centrifugation

使用人体离心法进行耳石功能的动眼神经测试

• 批准号: nhmrc : 301966
• 负责人: E/Pr Ian Curthoys
• 金额: $ 18.97万
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: NHMRC Project Grants
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2004-01-01 至 2006-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://researchdata.edu.au/oculomotor-tests-otolith-human-centrifugation/78124
• 关键词: Oculomotor; Tests; Otolith; Function; Using

The effects of dysfunction of the balance system of the inner ear (the vestibular system) can range from mild brief episodes of dizziness to almost complete incapacitation: where the patient feels unstable, their posture is unstable, their vision is unstable. In order to guide appropriate treatment and rehabilitation, diagnostic tests are needed to identify whether the dysfunction is due to a brain problem or a problem in the inner ear, and if an ear problem - which part of the inner ear system is affected. By combining basic research with clinically feasible methods my colleagues and I have, with NH and MRC support, developed some of the most widely used clinical tests of balance function available today (see Halmagyi, Cremer and Curthoys 2003 for a review). In this Project I seek to continue the development of a test of part of the balance system (the utricular macula) for which there are few acceptable tests. I will do that by using the unique facilities available at Sydney University and RPA Hospital, presenting controlled stimuli (linear accelerations) to healthy human subjects and patients with known vestibular losses, and measuring precisely their eye movement responses to these stimuli using computerized image processing techniques. The experiments will test an hypothesis about how part of the vestibular system, the utricular macula, works and controls eye movements. One eye movement response, rolling of the eye around the line of sight (called ocular torsion) during maintained roll head-tilts (to the patients left or right) may be due to the joint activation of two regions of the balance receptors: the utricular and saccular maculae. As a result of a recent direct test we have managed to conduct on two normal subjects, we think that hypothesis should be thoroughly re-tested on subjects and patients with known vestibular losses and in doing so provide new understanding of otolith function which may lead to new clinical tests.

内耳平衡系统（前庭系统）功能障碍的影响范围从轻度短暂的头晕到几乎完全丧失能力：患者感觉不稳定，姿势不稳定，视力不稳定。为了指导适当的治疗和康复，需要进行诊断测试来确定功能障碍是否是由于大脑问题或内耳问题引起的，以及如果是耳朵问题 - 内耳系统的哪一部分受到影响。通过将基础研究与临床可行的方法相结合，我和我的同事在 NH 和 MRC 的支持下，开发了一些当今使用最广泛的平衡功能临床测试（参见 Halmagyi、Cremer 和 Curthoys 2003 年的综述）。在这个项目中，我寻求继续开发平衡系统部分（椭圆囊黄斑）的测试，目前几乎没有可接受的测试。为此，我将利用悉尼大学和 RPA 医院提供的独特设施，向健康人类受试者和已知前庭功能丧失的患者提供受控刺激（线性加速度），并使用计算机图像处理技术精确测量他们对这些刺激的眼球运动反应。这些实验将检验关于前庭系统的一部分（即椭圆囊黄斑）如何工作和控制眼球运动的假设。一种眼球运动反应，即在保持转动头部（向左或向右）期间围绕视线滚动眼睛（称为眼扭转）可能是由于平衡感受器的两个区域的联合激活：椭圆囊和囊状黄斑。最近，我们成功地对两名正常受试者进行了直接测试，结果我们认为应该对已知前庭丧失的受试者和患者彻底重新测试该假设，从而提供对耳石功能的新认识，从而可能导致新的临床测试。