Changes in Electric Flicker Values by Vestibular Stimulation

Abstract

Electric flicker values or ΔS were measured during and after rotatory stimulation, and it was found that ΔS increases remarkably at the onset and cessation of a rotation.
1. The threshold rotatory stimulus which caused a significant increase in ΔS at a 5 percent level was a rotation at a rate of 9° per second.
2. The duration of after-nystagmus and the value of ΔS measured immediately after cessation of a rotation changed almost in parallel as the speed of rotation was varied, but ΔS was found a little more sensitive to rotatory stimulation than was the after-nystagmus which was measured either by inspection or by an electronystagmograph.
3. ΔS values were measured in various positions of the body in space, and it was found that ΔS depended very little on the position.
From these experiments it was concluded that the electric flicker value is remarkably influenced by stimulation of the semicircular canals, but very little by stimulation of the utriculus and the sacculus.