Elektronystagmography: The Answers One Might Get

Abstract

Electronystagmography might be a very useful instrument to reveal pathology of eye movements and of the vestibular system that cannot be detected at the bedside; often, it is very useful to have documentation and quantitative measurements. On the other hand, if used uncritically, results might be very misleading, e.g., if the patient did not understand instructions or did not follow them, or if inadequate stimuli or recording devices were used. The original procedure as published by Jung and Kornhuber [15] is still to be recommended. Brandt and Büchele [6] discuss further details of application, while Leigh and Zee [16], Baloh and Honrubia [3], and Brandt [5] review recent clinical literature. If the following is very critical concerning the choice of stimuli and interpretation of results, I also want to stress that for many situations electronystagmography is still a very valuable method which cannot easily be replaced, as it tests the functional integrity of several brainstem systems.