Bilateral vestibulopathy decreases self-motion perception

Lisa van Stiphout; Florence Lucieer; Maksim Pleshkov; Vincent Van Rompaey; Josine Widdershoven; Nils Guinand; Angélica Pérez Fornos; Herman Kingma; Raymond van de Berg

doi:10.1007/s00415-021-10695-3

Bilateral vestibulopathy decreases self-motion perception

J Neurol. 2022 Oct;269(10):5216-5228. doi: 10.1007/s00415-021-10695-3. Epub 2021 Jul 14.

Authors

Lisa van Stiphout¹, Florence Lucieer², Maksim Pleshkov^{2

3}, Vincent Van Rompaey⁴, Josine Widdershoven^{2

4}, Nils Guinand⁵, Angélica Pérez Fornos⁵, Herman Kingma^{2

3}, Raymond van de Berg^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Balance Disorders, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands. lisa.van.stiphout@mumc.nl.
² Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Balance Disorders, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
³ Faculty of Physics, Tomsk State Research University, Tomsk, Russian Federation.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
⁵ Service of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.

Abstract

Objective: Current diagnostic criteria for bilateral vestibulopathy (BV) primarily involve measurements of vestibular reflexes. Perceptual self-motion thresholds however, are not routinely measured and their clinical value in this specific population is not yet fully determined. Objectives of this study were (1) to compare perceptual self-motion thresholds between BV patients and control subjects, and (2) to explore patterns of self-motion perception performance and vestibular function in BV patients.

Methods: Thirty-seven BV patients and 34 control subjects were included in this study. Perceptual self-motion thresholds were measured in both groups using a CAREN platform (Motek Medical BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Vestibular function was evaluated (only in BV patients) by the caloric test, torsion swing test, video head impulse test of all semicircular canals, and cervical- and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials. Differences in thresholds between both groups were analyzed. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to visualize patterns between self-motion perception and vestibular function within the group of BV patients.

Results: Perceptual self-motion thresholds were significantly higher in BV patients compared to control subjects, regarding nearly all rotations and translations (depending on the age group) (p ≤ 0.001). Cluster analysis showed that within the group of BV patients, higher perceptual self-motion thresholds were generally associated with lower vestibular test results (significant for yaw rotation, caloric test, torsion swing test, and video head impulse test (p ≤ 0.001)).

Conclusion: Self-motion perception is significantly decreased in BV patients compared to control subjects regarding nearly all rotations and translations. Furthermore, decreased self-motion perception is generally associated with lower residual vestibular function in BV patients.

Trial registration: Trial registration number NL52768.068.15/METC.

Keywords: Bilateral vestibulopathy; Perception; Perceptual self-motion thresholds; Self-motion perception; Threshold; Vestibular.

MeSH terms

Bilateral Vestibulopathy*
Head Impulse Test
Humans
Motion Perception*
Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular
Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials*