Physiological assesment of vestibular function and toxicity in humans and animals

Abstract

Physiological methods that can be similarly recorded in humans and animals have a major role in sensory toxicology, as they provide a bridge between human sensory perception data and the molecular and cellular data obtained in animal studies. Vestibular toxicity research lags well behind other sensory systems in many aspects, including the availability of methods for functional assessment in animals that could be robustly translated to human significance. Here we review the methods available for the assessment of vestibular function in both humans and laboratory animals, with an emphasis on their similarity or divergence, to highlight their potential utility for the predictive assessment of vestibular toxicity.

Keywords: Animals; Equilibrium; Humans; Ototoxicity; Physiological methods; Vestibular system; Vestibular-evoked potentials; Vestibulo-ocular reflex; Vestibulo-spinal reflex.