Vestibular stimulation and its effects on muscle tone

In an attempt to better understand the otolith organs' contribution to postural control and their involvement with spasticity, we propose investigating their role in defining muscle tone utilizing acoustical stimulation. Over the years, the vestibular system has been investigated, both anecdotally and empirically, helping to establish the necessary neuromuscular evidence supporting its biomechanical contributions. Such examinations have included vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP), the vestibular ocular reflex (VOR), jump-tests and the vestibulospinal reflex (VSR), human centrifuge experiments, caloric tests, and galvanic stimulation. Generally speaking, these examinations can be classified into three categories; mechanical, electrical and caloric. The primary focus for our efforts, though, will be on the saccule, and since prior research has established it as the most sound sensitive vestibular end-organ, we believe that it can be acoustically stimulated in such a manner that it habituates the neuromuscular loop resulting in a quantifiable difference in muscle tone. The findings of this study may lead to new techniques that assist with motor control deficiency found in cerebral palsy and stroke patients along with astronauts returning from spaceflight.