Neuronal Operations in the Vestibular System

Book excerpt: The original intent of the series Studies of Brain Function was to offer a forum to neurobiologists working in different fields to present some of their recent results in a more extensive way. What may have been or might be published in several papers appearing in different journals will thus be com bined in one monograph, thus making the data more easily available to a wider scientific community. It is also believed that such an attempt will provide a more comprehensive insight into one particular field of neurobiol ogy. Admittedly, the monograph will represent a more subjective view than that provided by a classical review article. In this monograph I am going to describe a major aspect of my research, i.e., the central processing of information arising from the receptors in the semicircular canals and otoliths of the inner ear. I shall restrict this report to those systems that are concerned with the vestibuloocular transmission, since they offer particular opportunity to study sensory-motor integration.