Recording of short latency vestibular evoked potentials to acceleration in rats by means of skin electrodes

Short latency (less than 15 msec) vestibular potentials evoked by short and intense acceleration stimuli were recorded in rats by surface electrodes, using electronic filtering and with averaging techniques. The evoked potential is strongly dependent on the direction of rotation and on the angle of head, and it disappears after labyrinthectomy or sectioning the 8th nerve. All these facts point to its vestibular origin. Although these results were obtained in rats, the importance and the significance of recording a vestibukar evoked potential in man is obvious. It would lead to the possibility of objective verification of a vestibular disorder and localization of the lesion.