[Spontaneous nystagmus caused by barbiturates in normal subjects]

The authors studied in the normal subjects the barbiturate nystagmus to standardize a procedure for testing the brain stem activity involved in nystagmogenetic pathways. An electronystagmographic study has been carried out on 13 subjects suffering from extraotological surgical diseases after in venam injection of 20 mg/min of Pentothal, to anaesthetic induction. The spontaneous nystagmus was changeable at the beginning and almost regular in the culmination phase. The authors believe that in this phase the barbiturate nystagmus is useful as a test of brain stem activity in subjects suffering from central dizziness.