Influence of stimulus interval on the habituation of vestibulo-ocular reflex and sensation of rotation in humans

• Time interval between velocity steps influences vestibular habituation of nystagmus.
• VOR habituates only when steps are delivered after the primary phase nystagmus.
• Perception of self-rotation habituates irrespectively of stimulus interval.

Previous studies in cats revealed that vestibular habituation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) only occurs when velocity steps are delivered during the secondary phase nystagmus, suggesting that the presence of anti-compensatory slow phases may trigger the habituation process. We verified this property in humans by comparing vestibular habituation of VOR and sensation of rotation when steps were delivered either immediately after the perception of self-rotation had stopped, which is shortly before the nystagmus reverses direction; or when steps were delivered 60 s later, i.e. during the secondary phase. Vestibular habituation of the VOR occurred in both instances. However, the decrease in VOR peak slow phase velocity and time constant was larger when steps were delivered after nystagmus reversal compared to before nystagmus reversal. The duration of the perception of self-rotation habituated equally for both conditions. These results confirm that VOR habituation fully develops only when velocity steps are delivered after the primary phase nystagmus. This finding may be helpful for minimizing the impact of repetitive vestibular stimuli in protocols using crossover design for drug studies, testing recovery in vestibular patients, or training people for different gravitoinertial environments.