Does habitual, vigorous optokinetic stimulation alter optokinetic nystagmus and sensitivity to circularvection?

• Published in: Journal of vestibular research Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 59 - 61
• Main Authors: McDermott, K H, Matheson, A J, Titov, N, Darlington, C L, Smith, P F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01.01.1999
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Afterimage - physiology; Electrooculography; Humans; Male; Motion Perception - physiology; Nystagmus, Optokinetic - physiology; Psychophysics; Racquet Sports - physiology; Rotation; Sensation; Space life sciences; Weight Lifting - physiology
• ISSN: 0957-4271; 1878-6464
• DOI: 10.3233/VES-1999-9107

Previous studies have shown that experience with optokinetic stimulation can alter a subject's sensitivity to illusions such as circularvection (CV). The aim of the present experiment was to compare optokinetic nystagmus (OKN), optokinetic afternystagmus (OKAN), and sensitivity to CV between 2 groups of sportspeople: 1) squash players (n = 16), who regularly experience vigorous optokinetic stimulation while engaging in their sporting activity, and 2) weightlifters (n = 16), whose sport does not involve the same degree of optokinetic stimulation as squash, but who nevertheless have to achieve a high degree of physical skill. OKN, OKAN (frequency, slow phase velocity, and timeconstant), and latency to CV (Stage 2 and Stage 3) were measured using electro-oculographic recording inside an optokinetic drum. Contrary to predictions, there were no significant differences in OKN, OKAN, or latency to CV between the 2 groups. These results suggest that 1) the practice effects that alter the sensitivity to CV may decay relatively quickly, and 2) differences in recreational sporting activities between subjects may not be a significant confounding factor in visual-vestibular interaction experiments.