Physiology 3120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Vestibular Nerve, Lesion, Nystagmus

• School: Western University
• Department: Physiology
• Course: Physiology 3120
• Professor: Tom Stavraky

Document Summary

Lecture 17 vestibular system and eye movements. Vestibular system is a mechanosensation like the skin, muscle and auditor systems. It is the appreciation of position and motion of head in space: e. g. when turning in a car, when someone pushes you, spinning, etc. Function: detect the motion and position of the head in space. Conscious sensation from the vestibular system are not usually prominent but damage leads to big conscious effects: dizziness, nausea, self spinning, etc. Similar to the auditory system, it consists of hair cells in membranous tubes with endolymph fluid. Vestibular system is located in the inner ear. Above the cochlea (transduction of auditory information) are the elements of the vestibular system: semicircular canals and otholith endings: they are closely coupled to the cochlea and in the same part of the body. System provides information about: linear movement, provided by the utricle and saccule (otolith organs, rotational movement, provided by the semicircular canals.