Canal and otolith vestibulo-ocular reflexes to vertical and off vertical axis rotations in children learning to walk

In order to determine the characteristics of the vestibulo-ocular reflexes (VORs) as a function of age and posturo-motor development, a group of 26 normal children (6 to 25 months old) were tested at three different stages of posturo-motor control: prior to as well as during the first attempts to walk without support, and during the first year of independent walking. The test consisted of electro-oculographic (EOG) recordings of the VOR responses to horizontal semi-circular canal and otolith stimulations. The canal VOR was elicited in seated subjects by rotatory impulsions about a vertical axis (acceleration and deceleration both at 40 degrees/s2, separated by a rotation at 60 degrees/s velocity). The otolith VOR was elicited by inclining the rotating chair by 9 degrees respect to gravity. For the canal VOR, the time constant and the highest initial slow phase velocity were measured. The otolith VOR was characterized by the amplitude of the modulation and the bias (offset of baseline from zero) of the slow phase velocity averaged over 10 to 20 rotation cycles, for both the horizontal and vertical components of the response. The pooled values of these data show that canal VOR parameters did not vary significantly either with age of the children or with their stage of posturo-motor control. However, the otolith VOR parameters changed during the period of learning to walk: the modulation of the horizontal component increased and the modulation of the vertical component decreased significantly. Thus the ability to walk without support is marked by a significant change in the otolith but not canal responses; since the vestibular sensory organs develop anatomically at the same rate these results indicate that central nervous system processors of canal and otolith information develop independently.