TIME-COURSE OF EYE NYSTAGMUS AND BODY MOVEMENT AFTER PERIPHERAL VESTIBULAR LESIONS IN GUINEA-PIGS

Body movement of guinea pigs was measured using a force platform at va rious times before and after unilateral end organ ablation and before and after sham surgery. Both spontaneous and drop-evoked movement patt erns differed in the same animal after vestibular ablation and from co ntrol animals that received sham lesions. Whereas measures of eye nyst agmus disappeared by 48 h postablation, measures of body movement indi cated persistent differences even at 72 h. We conclude that the force platform can differentiate between movement patterns of normal and ves tibular-lesioned animals and, in fact, measures a vestibular deficienc y that is independent of eye nystagmus. The force platform appears to be a useful addition to evaluate vestibular deficits as well as to det ect any benefits of pharmacological or surgical therapies.