Abstract
To determine age-related changes in oculomotor function we measured vestibuloocular (VOR), optokinetic (OKN), and visual-vestibular responses in a large group of normal subjects over the age of 75 years and compared the results with those from a group of young adults. Compared with the young subjects, older subjects had: (1) an amplitude-dependent decrease in VOR gain, (2) a shorter dominant VOR time constant, (3) a lower OKN slow-phase velocity saturation, and (4) a decreased ability to enhance and suppress the VOR with vision. These functional changes in older subjects are presumably secondary to well-documented, age-related changes in the sensory and neural elements of the visualvestibulooculomotor pathways. They may be a contributory factor to the common complaints of dizziness and dysequilibrium in people over the age of 75 years.
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Baloh, R.W., Jacobson, K.M. & Socotch, T.M. The effect of aging on visual-vestibuloocular responses. Exp Brain Res 95, 509–516 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00227144
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00227144