Vestibular and Olfactory Sensory Systems
Static and Dynamic Equilibrium
Mechanisms of Vestibular-Mediated Equilibrium
There are two types of equilibrium that the vestibular system helps to maintain: static and dynamic (Virtual Medical Centre, 2010, para. 31). Static equilibrium provides feedback concerning head position or head movement when the body is stationary. In contrast, dynamic equilibrium involves sensing motion or acceleration/deceleration of the head. Acceleration can be further divided into sensing a change in linear velocity, either horizontally or vertically, and angular velocity associated with rotation of the head.
The vestibular system's contribution to maintaining equilibrium critically depends on inner ear structures. The saccule and utricle together provide sensory information concerning static equilibrium and linear acceleration, while the semicircular canals contribute information about angular acceleration (Virtual Medical Centre, 2010, para. 31-32). Both the saccule and utricle contain a small patch of hair cells and supporting cells, which are known as maculae. The saccule and utricle maculae are positioned vertically and horizontally, respectively. The macula hair cells are embedded in a jelly-like material called the otolithic membrane. On top of the otolithic membrane are otoliths, which act to weigh down the membrane to give it greater inertia. If a person shifts head position then the otoliths and membrane moves lags behind the movement, thereby mechanically stimulating a large number of cilia elaborated by the hair cells.
If a person tilts their head forward, or starts or stops running, then the horizontally-positioned otolithic membrane in the utricle will provide the necessary linear acceleration/deceleration information (Virtual Medical Centre, 2010, para....
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