Status of vestibular function after prolonged bedrest.

6 young, healthy, male volunteers were submitted to one week of head down (-4 degrees) bedrest. This position simulates the cerebral hemodynamic conditions in weightlessness. Measurements of vestibular equilibrium and of oculomotor system function were made before and after the prolonged bedrest. Analysis of the results indicates that vestibular responses, as measured by the maximal speed of the slow phase of the provoked nystagmus (caloric and sinusoidal rotatory stimulations), are decreased after prolonged bedrest. This statistically significant diminution requires confirmation with a greater number of cases. The reflex conflicting or interacting with the cervico-ocular and optokinetic reflexes on the one hand and the foveal vision on the other, is one of several possible explanations for the observed changes.