Hamann Karl-Friedrich, Weiss Udo, Ruile Andrea
ENT Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 May;1164:305-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.03867.x.
The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the vestibular system and orientation in space and the role of acute vestibular lesions in spatial memory. In a first step it could be shown that determining the visual straight ahead is systematically influenced by caloric irrigation: deviations up to 10 degrees appeared, which are directed to the slow phase of the simultaneously provoked nystagmus. In a second step, 20 healthy subjects and 20 patients suffering from an acute vestibular disorder were asked to adjust a luminous point visual straight ahead. Whereas the healthy subjects' visual straight ahead was in a range of +/-2 degrees, the vestibular patients showed significantly greater deviations. If healthy subjects and patients were asked to replace a luminous point, which was exposed for a short time, to its original position, young and older healthy subjects showed good performance, with an error not greater than 3 degrees, whereas the vestibular patients showed significantly greater inaccuracy. We conclude that the visual straight ahead is a vestibular-dependent parameter of visual orientation and that spatial memory is influenced by acute vestibular lesions. For the first time it is shown that acute vestibular lesions impair spatial memory. This can be explained by the close relationship between the vestibular system and the hippocampus.
本研究的目的是调查前庭系统与空间定向之间的关系以及急性前庭病变在空间记忆中的作用。第一步可以证明，热灌注会系统地影响视觉正前方的确定：出现了高达10度的偏差，其方向指向同时诱发的眼球震颤的慢相。第二步，要求20名健康受试者和20名患有急性前庭障碍的患者调整视觉正前方的发光点。健康受试者的视觉正前方在±2度范围内，而前庭疾病患者的偏差明显更大。如果要求健康受试者和患者将短时间暴露的发光点放回其原始位置，年轻和年长的健康受试者表现良好，误差不大于3度，而前庭疾病患者的不准确程度明显更高。我们得出结论，视觉正前方是视觉定向的一个依赖前庭的参数，并且空间记忆受急性前庭病变影响。首次表明急性前庭病变会损害空间记忆。这可以通过前庭系统与海马体之间的密切关系来解释。
