Effect of streptomycin intoxication on vestibular nerve regeneration and posture recovery.

The action of streptomycin sulfate (SM) on the regenerative process of the vestibular nerve and posture recovery was studied, using bull frogs. The vestibular nerve was sectioned in various conditions with intact endorgan or with SM intoxication. When the nerve was sectioned with the hair cells left intact, the nerve regenerated well and body balance recovered to normal. However, when neural regeneration was blocked, recovery was incomplete. SM intoxication resulted in various degrees of hair cell damage. Degree of posture recovery correlated well with the number of hair cells. When the nerve was sectioned after damaging the hair cell, the nerve failed to regenerate and posture recovery was incomplete. These results suggest that the degree of posture recovery depends on hair cell function and neural regeneration. Furthermore, neural regeneration is strongly influenced by hair cell function.