Vestibular endorgan of the frog after the space flight and postural alteration of the neurectomized frog--its morphological and functional resilience.

The vestibular organ of frogs returned from space were observed by SEM. Morphology of the sensory epithelia was normal, including ultrastructure, such as tip links and side links. The frogs' behavior and vestibular morphology after various types of vestibular neurectomy were studied. Vestibular neurectomy resulted in tilting posture toward that side. This tilting gradually decreased to zero and the nerve regenerated. When the same nerve was cut again after postural recovery, the tilting angle was smaller and recovery period was shorter than after the first neurectomy. When the bilateral nerves were cut and neural regeneration was inhibited on one side, tilting slowly developed toward that side. These results show that frogs' postural change is modified by both central compensation and peripheral vestibular function.