Galvanic vestibular stimulation: a novel modulatory countermeasure for vestibular-associated movement disorders

• Published in: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria 2014-01, Vol.72 (1), p.72-77
• Main Authors: Rizzo-Sierra, Carlos V, Gonzalez-Castaño, Alexander, Leon-Sarmiento, Fidias E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: distúrbios do movimento; Electric Stimulation Therapy - methods; enjoo de movimento; estimulação galvânica vestibular; GABA; Galvanic Skin Response - physiology; Humans; Motion Sickness - physiopathology; Motion Sickness - therapy; Movement Disorders - physiopathology; Movement Disorders - therapy; NEUROSCIENCES; orientação aeroespacial; Postural Balance; PSYCHIATRY; síndrome de adaptação aeroespacial; Vestibular Diseases - physiopathology; Vestibular Diseases - therapy
• ISSN: 0004-282X; 1678-4227; 1678-4227; 0004-282X
• DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20130182

Motion sickness or kinetosis is the result of the abnormal neural output originated by visual, proprioceptive and vestibular mismatch, which reverses once the dysfunctional sensory information becomes coherent. The space adaptation syndrome or space sickness relates to motion sickness; it is considered to be due to yaw, pith, and roll coordinates mismatch. Several behavioural and pharmacological measures have been proposed to control these vestibular-associated movement disorders with no success. Galvanic vestibular stimulation has the potential of up-regulating disturbed sensory-motor mismatch originated by kinetosis and space sickness by modulating the GABA-related ion channels neural transmission in the inner ear. It improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the afferent proprioceptive volleys, which would ultimately modulate the motor output restoring the disordered gait, balance and human locomotion due to kinetosis, as well as the spatial disorientation generated by gravity transition.