Yang Xiaojie, Sun Peng, Wu Jian-Ping, Jiang Weitao, Vai Mang I, Pun Sio Hang, Peng Cheng, Chen Fangyi
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, University of Macau, Macau, China.
Neurosci Lett. 2020 Jan 19;717:134608. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134608. Epub 2019 Nov 16.
The normal function of the vestibular system is crucial for the sense of balance. The techniques used to assess the vestibular function plays a vital role in the research of the vestibular system. In this article, we have systematically reviewed some popular methods employing vestibular reflexes and vestibular evoked potentials for assessing the vestibular function in rodent models. These vestibular reflexes and vestibular evoked potentials to effective stimuli have been used as nondestructive and objective functional measures. The main types of vestibular reflexes include the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), vestibulocollic reflex (VCR), and vestibulo-sympathetic reflex (VSR). They are all capable of indicating the functions of the semicircular canals and otoliths. However, the VOR assessment is much more prevalently used because of the relatively stereotypical inputoutput relationship and simple motion pattern of the ocular response. In contrast, the complicated motion pattern and small gain of the VCR response, as well as the undesired component possibly contributed from the acceleration receptors outside the labyrinths in the VSR response, restrict the widespread applications of VCR and VSR in the assessment of the vestibular system. The vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) and vestibular sensory evoked potentials (VsEPs) are the two typical evoked potentials that have been also employed for evaluating the vestibular function. Through exploiting different types of the VEMPs, the saccular and utricular functions can be evaluated separately. The sound-induced VEMPs, moreover, are capable of noninvasively assessing the unilateral vestibular function. The VsEPs, via the morphology of their signal waveforms, enable the access to the location-specific information that indicates the functional statuses of different components within the vestibular neural pathway.
前庭系统的正常功能对于平衡感至关重要。用于评估前庭功能的技术在对前庭系统的研究中起着至关重要的作用。在本文中，我们系统地综述了一些在啮齿动物模型中运用前庭反射和前庭诱发电位来评估前庭功能的常用方法。这些对有效刺激产生的前庭反射和前庭诱发电位已被用作非侵入性且客观的功能测量指标。前庭反射的主要类型包括前庭眼反射（VOR）、前庭颈反射（VCR）和前庭交感反射（VSR）。它们都能够指示半规管和耳石的功能。然而，由于眼反应的输入 - 输出关系相对刻板且运动模式简单，VOR评估更为普遍。相比之下，VCR反应的运动模式复杂且增益较小，以及VSR反应中可能来自迷路外加速度感受器的不必要成分，限制了VCR和VSR在前庭系统评估中的广泛应用。前庭诱发肌源性电位（VEMPs）和前庭感觉诱发电位（VsEPs）是另外两种也被用于评估前庭功能的典型诱发电位。通过利用不同类型的VEMPs，可以分别评估球囊和椭圆囊的功能。此外，声音诱发的VEMPs能够无创地评估单侧前庭功能。VsEPs通过其信号波形的形态，能够获取指示前庭神经通路内不同成分功能状态的位置特异性信息。
