Summary
The effect of bilateral saccular ablation on the asymmetry of vertical optokinetic after-nystagmus (OKAN) was studied in squirrel monkeys. No significant changes occurred in the initial slow-phase eye velocity (SPEV) or the time constant of the upward or downward OKAN first phase (OKAN-I) under various stimulus conditions. However, with a protracted downward stimulus, the maximum SPEV and the number of beats of the slow-phase-up OKAN second phase (OKAN-II) significantly increased. This increase should be the result from enhancement of the downward optokinetic input. In contrast, there was only minimal change in the slow-phase-down OKAN-II. Thus, the asymmetrical dominance of the vertical OKAN (dominance upward) remained the same after saccular deafferentation.
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Igarashi, M., Himil, T., MacDonald, S. et al. The effect of saccular ablation on vertical optokinetic after-nystagmus in squirrel monkeys. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 247, 274–276 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176535
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176535