Bilateral labyrinthectomy in the cat: effects on the postural response to translation

1. This study examined the role of vestibular afferent information on the postural responses of four cats, evoked by movements of the support surface during stance. Animals were exposed to linear translations of the supporting surface in eight evenly spaced directions in the horizontal plane, before and after bilateral labyrinthectomy. Postural responses were quantified in terms of the ground reaction forces under each paw and the evoked activity in selected muscles. 2. The cats were able to stand on the platform within 1-3 days after labyrinthectomy and were able to maintain balance during all perturbations of stance, even when they stood in total darkness, completely deprived of visual information. After lesion, postural responses were characterized by normal latency and normal spatial and temporal patterning of electromyographic (EMG) response. The pattern of force response showed the force constraint strategy that characterizes postural responses in the intact animal. 3. The only deficit in the postural response after lesion was a hypermetria, or active over-response that caused the animals to overbalance somewhat but did not impair their ability to remain upright. Analysis of the trajectory of the animal's center of mass during the trials indicated that the hypermetria was due to an abnormally large, active response on the part of the animal and could not be attributed to changes in the passive stiffness of the musculoskeletal system. The hypermetria was transient, and response amplitude returned to control levels after the rapid compensation phase of 10-15 days. 4. It is concluded that vestibular information is not essential for triggering the rapid, automatic postural response to translations of the support surface, nor is it necessary for the selection or shaping of the evoked response. Instead, somatosensory information appears to predominate in these postural adjustments. However, vestibular afferent input does influence the scaling of the postural response.