[Biological experiments in microgravity: equilibrium function]

The review deals with the investigations of structural and functional modifications in the equilibrium organ (EO) in invertebrates (coelenterates, shells, crustaceans and insects) and vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, rats, primates) on different ontogenetic stages in the condition of microgravity and during readaptation to the Earth's gravity. Results of the investigations detail the adaptive strategy of terrestrial organism in the environment lacking the gravitational components that leads to the discrepancy of an inner model of the body-environment schema constructed by the central nervous system at 1 g and the novel reality. It is manifested by ataxic behavior and increased graviceptors' afferentation against efferent system inactivation. The new condition is defined as a sensibilization phase ensued by the eluding phase: behavior obeys the innate motion strategy, whereas graviceptors' afferentation decreases due to activation of the efferent system. Readaptation to 1 G takes several to 50 days and proceeds as a sequence of slow in motion behavior, ataxia and vestibular sensitization. Reactivity of the gravitosensory system to microgravity was found to be age-dependent. Gain in the EO inertial mass in microgravity and reduction with return to 1 g indicates gravity relevance to EO genesis.