A Review of Neural Data and Modelling to Explain How a Semicircular Canal Dehiscence (SCD) Causes Enhanced VEMPs, Skull Vibration Induced Nystagmus (SVIN), and the Tullio Phenomenon

Overview

Journal Audiol Res

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Otorhinolaryngology

Date 2023 Jun 27

PMID 37366683

Authors

Ian S Curthoys

Christopher M Smith

Ann M Burgess

Julia Dlugaiczyk

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Angular acceleration stimulation of a semicircular canal causes an increased firing rate in primary canal afferent neurons that result in nystagmus in healthy adult animals. However, increased firing rate in canal afferent neurons can also be caused by sound or vibration in patients after a semicircular canal dehiscence, and so these unusual stimuli will also cause nystagmus. The recent data and model by Iversen and Rabbitt show that sound or vibration may increase firing rate either by neural activation locked to the individual cycles of the stimulus or by slow changes in firing rate due to fluid pumping ("acoustic streaming"), which causes cupula deflection. Both mechanisms will act to increase the primary afferent firing rate and so trigger nystagmus. The primary afferent data in guinea pigs indicate that in some situations, these two mechanisms may oppose each other. This review has shown how these three clinical phenomena-skull vibration-induced nystagmus, enhanced vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, and the Tullio phenomenon-have a common tie: they are caused by the new response of semicircular canal afferent neurons to sound and vibration after a semicircular canal dehiscence.

Citing Articles

Skull vibration induced nystagmus, velocity storage and self-stability.

Curthoys I, Zee D, Dumas G, Pastras C, Dlugaiczyk J Front Neurol. 2025; 16:1533842.

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Model of superior semicircular canal dehiscence: asymmetrical vestibular dysfunction induces reversible balance impairment.

Hong S, Wackym P, Murphy D, Peci E, Kiel M, Tucker A Front Neurol. 2024; 15:1476004.

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[Update on diagnostic procedures in third window syndromes. German version].

Dlugaiczyk J, Rosch S, Mantokoudis G HNO. 2024; 73(1):35-44.

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Posterior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence with Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex Reduction for the Affected Canal at the Video-Head Impulse Test: Considerations to Pathomechanisms.

Castellucci A, Dumas G, Abuzaid S, Armato E, Martellucci S, Malara P Audiol Res. 2024; 14(2):317-332.

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[The "difficult" patient-pearls and pitfalls of vestibular diagnostic tests: Part 2 : Difficult aspects of vestibular laboratory testing].

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