Effects of afloqualone on vestibular nystagmus and the lateral vestibular nucleus.

To clarify the antivertiginous effect of afloqualone, an antispastic drug, we examined its action on the vestibular nervous system in cats. The results suggest that afloqualone inhibits vestibular nystagmus probably due to both inhibition of selective polysynaptic transmission and enhancement of the effects of GABA and glycine in the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN), and its GABA-enhancing effect is thought to be attributable to the increased sensitivity of GABA receptors of the LVN neuron site.