Furmen J M, Durrant J D
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Vestib Res. 1998 Sep-Oct;8(5):355-61.
Head-only rotational testing (HORT) is a noninvasive technique to assess the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) that can be performed in a nonlaboratory environment with inexpensive, portable equipment. Little data are available regarding the applicability of this technique to the elderly in whom limitations of cervical range of motion might reduce the usefulness of the technique. This study was designed to apply HORT to a small group of normal elderly subjects to determine whether the technique could be used successfully in this population. Also, the VOR parameters derived from HORT were compared with the results obtained from a group of healthy young control subjects. HORT was performed both with and without visual fixation of an earth-fixed target, using both active head movement and passive head movement. Results indicated that the responses of the elderly were indistinguishable from those of the young except for a slightly higher gain at 1 Hz in the young subjects. Other findings, consistent across young and elderly, were that visual fixation increased gain and decreased phase lead at lower frequencies and that VOR parameters were unaffected by volition, that is, active and passive head rotation produced similar responses. These findings suggest that HORT can be applied to the elderly without difficulty. Future studies will assess the usefulness of HORT in elderly patients with VOR disorders.
仅头部旋转测试（HORT）是一种评估前庭眼反射（VOR）的非侵入性技术，可在非实验室环境中使用廉价的便携式设备进行。关于该技术在老年人中的适用性的数据很少，因为颈椎活动范围的限制可能会降低该技术的实用性。本研究旨在将HORT应用于一小群正常老年受试者，以确定该技术是否能在该人群中成功使用。此外，将HORT得出的VOR参数与一组健康年轻对照受试者的结果进行比较。在有和没有视觉固定地球固定目标的情况下，使用主动头部运动和被动头部运动进行HORT。结果表明，除了年轻受试者在1Hz时增益略高外，老年人的反应与年轻人的反应没有区别。年轻和老年人一致的其他发现是，视觉固定在较低频率下增加增益并减少相位超前，并且VOR参数不受意志影响，即主动和被动头部旋转产生相似的反应。这些发现表明HORT可以毫无困难地应用于老年人。未来的研究将评估HORT在患有VOR障碍的老年患者中的实用性。
