Response of central vestibular neurons to utricular stimulations in cats.

In decerebrated, spinal transected cats with neck and forelimbs immobilized by plaster cats, the visual and proprioceptive cues were minimized when the animal was tilted. The contralateral labyrinth was acutely destroyed. The ipsilateral semicircular canals were plugged and the ipsilateral saccule extirpated leaving the ipsilateral utricle intact. Neurons in the vestibular nuclear complex driven by electrical stimulation of the utricle were shown to be highly sensitive to static pitch. Results suggest that the observed response to static pitch was due exclusively to input from the utricle.