Autonomic nervous system function tests in patients with vertigo or dizziness were classified and carried out as follows;
1) Tone of the sympathetic nervous system,
2) Sensitivity of adrenergic receptors,
3) Activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system,
4) Reflex functions of the autonomic nervous system.
Although patients with vertigo, especially with Meniere's disease, did not show
organic disturbances of sympathetic tone, the decreased activity of the parasympathetic nervous system predisposed them to symptoms, and the reflex functions of their sympathetic nervous systems were accelerated. Moreover, the difference in the side of cervical sympathetic nervous activity was verfied by the restoration of the skin temperature after the immersion of both hands in cold water. Patients with Ménière's disease showed a marked lateral difference in the restoration process during the attack, but not between attacks.
