Review Article

The application of subjective visual vertical in balance system disorders

Abstract

Background and Aim: According to the guidelines approved by international scientific associations, the assessment of the vestibular system and its rehabilitation is carried out by audiologists. The subjective visual vertical (SVV) test, while simply done, is an appropriate test for assessment of otolithic system. This review study has tried to introduce the application of SVV test in different disorder of the vestibular system based on the clinical research in various resources.
Recent Findings: We searched the subject of SVV in various databases from 1900 up to 2017. We used keywords of subjective visual vertical and SVV. 110 papers were found and 78 of them were selected. The application of SVV in balance system diseases was reviewed based on these original articles and three related text books.
Conclusion: The SVV test in the Pusher syndrome, migraine and the chronic phase of Meniere's disease did not statistically differentiate between two groups of normal and abnormal people. However, the SVV deviation in individuals with pusher syndrome was higher than normal subjects. In Parkinson's disease, vestibular neuritis, vestibular schwannoma, Pisa syndrome, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, aging, hydrocephalus, chronic neck pains, acute phase of Meniere's disease and multiple sclerosis, the SVV test was able to separate normal subjects from abnormal subjects. The method and procedure for performing the SVV test will have a significant impact on the test result. Therefore, it is necessary to standardize the method of performing the SVV test for each particular disease.

1. Bronstein AM. The interaction of otolith and proprioceptive information in the perception of verticality. The effects of labyrinthine and CNS disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;871:324-33.
2. Iranfar S, Karimi LJ, Shaabani M, Sharifian Alborzi M, Akbarzadeh Baghban A. Subjective visual vertical test: the effect of preset angle and visual background. J Rehab Med. 2013;2(2):47-54. doi: 10.22037/r.m.v2i2.5582
3. Pagarkar W, Bamiou DE, Ridout D, Luxon LM. Subjective visual vertical and horizontal: effect of the present angle. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(4):394-401. doi: 10.1001/archotol.134.4.394
4. Curthoys IS, Dai MJ, Halmagyi GM. Human ocular torsional position before and after unilateral vestibular neurectomy. Exp Brain Res. 1991;85(1):218-25.
5. Van Nechel C, Toupet M, Bodson I. The subjective visual vertical. Adv Otorhinolaryngol. 2001;58:77-87.
6. Stoffregen TA, Riccio GE. An ecological theory of orientation and the vestibular system. Psychol Rev. 1988;95(1):3-14.
7. Bronstein AM. Evaluation of balance. In: Gleeson M, editor. Scott-Brown's otorhinolaryngology: head and neck surgery, volume 3. 7th ed. London: Hodder Arnold; 2008. p. 3706-47.
8. Lopez C, Blanke O. The thalamocortical vestibular system in animals and humans. Brain Res Rev. 2011;67(1-2):119-46. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresrev.2010.12.002
9. Gans RE, Wende Yellin M. Assessment of vestibular function. In: Roeser RJ, Valente M, Hosford-Dunn H, editors. Audiology diagnosis. 2nd ed. New York: Thieme; 2007. p. 540-63.
10. Neal E. Visual localization of the vertical. Am J Psychol. 1926;37(2):287-91. doi: 10.2307/1413700
11. Howard IP. Human visual orientation. John Wiley & Sons; 1982.
12. Bronstein AM. Tests of otolith function and vestibular perception. In: Jacobson GP, Shepard NT, editors. Balance function assessment and management. 2nd ed. San Diego: Plural publishing; 2016. p. 581-94.
13. Dichgans J, Held R, Young LR, Brandt T. Moving visual scenes influence the apparent direction of gravity. Science. 1972;178(4066):1217-9.
14. Dichgans J, Brandt T, Held R. The role of vision in gravitational orientation. Fortschr Zool. 1975;23(1):255-63.
15. Mittelstaedt H. The information processing structure of the subjective vertical. A cybernetic bridge between its psychophysics and its neurobiology. In: Marko H, Hauske G, Struppler A, editors. Processing structures for perception and action. Weinheim: VCH-Verlagsgesellschaft; 1988. p. 217-63.
16. Yardley L. Contribution of somatosensory information to perception of the visual vertical with body tilt and rotating visual field. Percept Psychophys. 1990;48(2):131-4.
17. Mittelstaedt H. Somatic versus vestibular gravity reception in man. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1992;656:124-39.
18. Bronstein AM, Yardley L, Moore AP, Cleeves L. Visually and posturally mediated tilt illusion in Parkinson's disease and in labyrinthine defective subjects. Neurology. 1996;47(3):651-6.
19. Friedmann G. The judgment of the visual vertical and horizontal with peripheral and central vestibular lesions. Brain. 1970;93(2):313-28.
20. Ushio M, Iwasaki S, Chihara Y, Murofushi T. Abnormal deviation of subjective visual horizontal in patients with vestibular schwannoma. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2008;117(9):641-4. doi: 10.1177/000348940811700902
21. Halmagyi GM, Gresty MA, Gibson WP. Ocular tilt reaction with peripheral vestibular lesion. Ann Neurol. 1979;6(1):80-3. doi: 10.1002/ana.410060122
22. Dieterich M, Brandt T. Wallenberg's syndrome: lateropulsion, cyclorotation, and subjective visual vertical in thirty-six patients. Ann Neurol. 1992;31(4):399-408. doi: 10.1002/ana.410310409
23. Dieterich M, Brandt T. Ocular torsion and perceived vertical in oculomotor, trochlear and abducens nerve palsies. Brain. 1993;116 (Pt 5):1095-104.
24. Brandt T, Dieterich M, Danek A. Vestibular cortex lesions affect the perception of verticality. Ann Neurol. 1994;35(4):403-12. doi: 10.1002/ana.410350406
25. Hale T, Trahan H, Parent-Buck T. Evaluation of the patient with dizziness and balance disorders. In: Katz J, Chasin M, English K, Hood LJ, Tillery KL, editors. Handbook of clinical audiology. 7th ed. New York: Wolters Kluwer Health. 2014. p. 399-424.
26. Kurtzke JF. On the evaluation of disability in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 1961;11(8):686-94.
27. Serra A, Derwenskus J, Downey DL, Leigh RJ. Role of eye movement examination and subjective visual vertical in clinical evaluation of multiple sclerosis. J Neurol. 2003;250(5):569-75. doi: 10.1007/s00415-003-1038-8
28. Downey DL, Stahl JS, Bhidayasiri R, Derwenskus J, Adams NL, Ruff RL, et al. Saccadic and vestibular abnormalities in multiple sclerosis: sensitive clinical signs of brainstem and cerebellar involvement. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002;956:438-40.
29. Arnold DB, Robinson DA. The oculomotor integrator: testing of a neural network model. Exp Brain Res. 1997;113(1):57-74.
30. Ushio M, Iwasaki S, Murofushi T, Sugasawa K, Chihara Y, Fujimoto C, et al. The diagnostic value of vestibular-evoked myogenic potential in patients with vestibular schwannoma. Clin Neurophysiol. 2009;120(6):1149-53. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2009.01.017
31. Murofushi T, Curthoys IS, Gilchrist DP. Response of guinea pig vestibular nucleus neurons to clicks. Exp Brain Res. 1996;111(1):149-52.
32. Brandt T, Dieterich M. Pathological eye-head coordination in roll: tonic ocular tilt reaction in mesencephalic and medullary lesions. Brain. 1987;110 (Pt 3):649-66.
33. Sando I, Black FO, Hemenway WG. Spatial distribution of vestibular nerve in internal auditory canal. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1972;81(3):305-14. doi: 10.1177/000348947208100301
34. Karnath HO, Broetz D. Understanding and treating "pusher syndrome". Physical therapy. Phys Ther. 2003;83(12):1119-25.
35. Johannsen L, Fruhmann Berger M, Karnath HO. Subjective visual vertical (SVV) determined in a representative sample of 15 patients with pusher syndrome. J Neurol. 2006;253(10):1367-9. doi: 10.1007/s00415-006-0216-x
36. Bradley WG Jr, Whittemore AR, Kortman KE, Watanabe AS, Homyak M, Teresi LM, et al. Marked cerebrospinal fluid void: indicator of successful shunt in patients with suspected normal-pressure hydrocephalus. Radiology. 1991;178(2):459-66.
37. Blomsterwall E, Bilting M, Stephensen H, Wikkelsö C. Gait abnormality is not the only motor disturbance in normal pressure hydrocephalus. Scand J Rehabil Med. 1995;27(4):205-9.
38. Krauss JK, Regel JP, Droste DW, Orszagh M, Borremans JJ, Vach W. Movement disorders in adult hydrocephalus. Mov Disord. 1997;12(1):53-60.
39. Blomsterwall E, Svantesson U, Carlsson U, Tullberg M, Wikkelsö C. Postural disturbance in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus. Acta Neurol Scand. 2000;102(5):284-91.
40. Wikkelsö C, Blomsterwall E, Frisén L. Subjective visual vertical and Romberg's test correlations in hydrocephalus. J Neurol. 2003;250(6):741-5. doi: 10.1007/s00415-003-1076-2
41. Strupp M, Zingler VC, Arbusow V, Niklas D, Maag KP, Dieterich M, et al. Methylprednisolone, valacyclovir, or the combination for vestibular neuritis. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(4):354-61. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa033280
42. Toupet M, Van Nechel C, Bozorg Grayeli A. Influence of body laterality on recovery from subjective visual vertical tilt after vestibular neuritis. Audiol Neurootol. 2014;19(4):248-55. doi: 10.1159/000360266
43. Vibert D, Häusler R, Safran AB. Subjective visual vertical in peripheral unilateral vestibular diseases. J Vestib Res. 1999;9(2):145-52.
44. Böhmer A, Rickenmann J. The subjective visual vertical as a clinical parameter of vestibular function in peripheral vestibular diseases. J Vestib Res. 1995;5(1):35-45.
45. Borel L, Lopez C, Péruch P, Lacour M. Vestibular syndrome: a change in internal spatial representation. Neurophysiol Clin. 2008;38(6):375-89. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2008.09.002
46. Dieterich M, Bense S, Lutz S, Drzezga A, Stephan T, Bartenstein P. Dominance for vestibular cortical function in the non-dominant hemisphere. Cereb Cortex. 2003;13(9):994-1007.
47. Hughes AJ, Daniel SE, Kilford L, Lees AJ. Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a clinico-pathological study of 100 cases. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1992;55(3):181-4.
48. Chaudhuri KR, Yates L, Martinez-Martin P. The non-motor symptom complex of Parkinson's disease: a comprehensive assessment is essential. Curr Neurol Neu¬rosci Rep. 2005;5(4):275-83.
49. Azulay JP, Mesure S, Amblard B, Pouget J. Increased visual dependence in Parkinson's disease. Percept Mot Skills. 2002;95(3 Pt 2):1106-14. doi: 10.2466/pms.2002.95.3f.1106
50. Danta G, Hilton RC. Judgment of the visual vertical and horizontal in patients with Parkinsonism. Neurology. 1975;25(1):43-7.
51. Uc EY, Rizzo M, Anderson SW, Qian S, Rodnitzky RL, Dawson JD. Visual dysfunction in Parkinson disease without dementia. Neurology. 2005;65(12):1907-13. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000191565.11065.11
52. Pereira CB, Kanashiro AK, Maia FM, Barbosa ER. Correlation of impaired subjective visual vertical and postural instability in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Sci. 2014;346(1-2):60-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2014.07.057
53. Khattab A, Docherty S, Bagust J, Willington R, Thomas P, Amar K. Subjective visual vertical perception and sense of smell in Parkinson disease. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2012;49(6):961-9.
54. Suzuki T, Matsuzaka H. Drug-induced Pisa syndrome (pleurothotonus): epidemiology and management. CNS Drugs. 2002;16(3):165-74.
55. Cossu G, Melis M, Melis G, Maccioni E, Putzu V, Catte O, et al. Reversible Pisa syndrome (pleurothotonus) due to the cholinesterase inhibitor galantamine: case report. Mov Disord. 2004;19(10):1243-4. doi: 10.1002/mds.20164
56. Scocco DH, Wagner JN, Racosta J, Chade A, Gershanik OS. Subjective visual vertical in Pisa syndrome. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2014;20(8):878-83. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2014.04.030
57. Brandt T, Dieterich M. Skew deviation with ocular torsion: a vestibular brainstem sign of topographic diagnostic value. Ann Neurol. 1993;33(5):528-34. doi: 10.1002/ana.410330518
58. Clarke AH, Schönfeld U, Helling K. Unilateral examination of utricle and saccule function. J Vestib Res. 2003;13(4-6):215-25.
59. Fetter M. Assessing vestibular function: which tests, when? J Neurol. 2000;247(5):335-42.
60. Helling K, Schönfeld U, Clarke AH. Treatment of Ménière's disease by low-dosage intratympanic gentamicin application: effect on otolith function. Laryngoscope. 2007;117(12):2244-50. doi: 10.1097/MLG.0b013e3181453a3c
61. Hosseini Fard A, Yazdani N, Rezazadeh N, Sharifian Alborzi M, Akbarzadeh Bagheban A. Subjective visual vertical in patients with unilateral definite Meniere's diseases. Aud Vest Res. 2017;26(2):105-11.
62. Kumagami H, Sainoo Y, Fujiyama D, Baba A, Oku R, Takasaki K, et al. Subjective visual vertical in acute attacks of Ménière's disease. Otol Neurotol. 2009;30(2):206-9. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0b013e3181925010
63. Faralli M, Manzari L, Panichi R, Botti F, Ricci G, Longari F, et al. Subjective visual vertical before and after treatment of a BPPV episode. Auris Nasus Larynx. 2011;38(3):307-11. doi: 10.1016/j.anl.2010.10.005
64. Jáuregui-Renaud K, Faldon ME, Gresty MA, Bronstein AM. Horizontal ocular vergence and the three-dimensional response to whole-body roll motion. Exp Brain Res. 2001;136(1):79-92.
65. Drummond PD. Triggers of motion sickness in migraine sufferers. Headache. 2005;45(6):653-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2005.05132.x
66. Drummond PD. Effect of tryptophan depletion on symptoms of motion sickness in migraineurs. Neurology. 2005;65(4):620-2. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000172339.15577.a6
67. Scherer H, Helling K, Clarke AH, Hausmann S. Motion sickness and otolith asymmetry. Biol Sci Space. 2001;15(4):401-4.
68. Crevits L, Vanacker L, Verraes A. Patients with migraine correctly estimate the visual verticality. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2012;114(4):313-5. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2011.10.025
69. Asai M, Aoki M, Hayashi H, Yamada N, Mizuta K, Ito Y. Subclinical deviation of the subjective visual vertical in patients affected by a primary headache. Acta Otolaryngol. 2009;129(1):30-5. doi: 10.1080/00016480802032785
70. Karlberg M, Persson L, Magnusson M. Reduced postural control in patients with chronic cervicobrachial pain syndrome. Gait Posture. 1995;3(4):241-9. doi: 10.1016/0966-6362(96)82854-2
71. Grod JP, Diakow PR. Effect of neck pain on verticality perception: a cohort study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002;83(3):412-5.
72. Bogduk N. Cervical causes of headache and dizziness. In: Grieve GP, editor. Modern manual therapy of the vertebral column. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 1986. p. 289-302.
73. Bagust J, Rix GD, Hurst HC. Use of a computer rod and frame (CRAF) test to assess errors in the perception of visual vertical in a clinical setting—a pilot study. Clin Chiropr. 2005;8(3):134-9. doi: 10.1016/j.clch.2005.07.001
74. Docherty S, Schärer R, Bagust J, Humphreys BK. Perception of subjective visual vertical and horizontal in patients with chronic neck pain: a cross-sectional observational study. Man Ther. 2012;17(2):133-8. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2011.11.002
75. Hafström A, Fransson PA, Karlberg M, Magnusson M. Idiosyncratic compensation of the subjective visual horizontal and vertical in 60 patients after unilateral vesti¬bular deafferentation. Acta Otolaryngol. 2004;124(2):165-71.
76. Karlberg M, Aw ST, Halmagyi GM, Black RA. Vibration-induced shift of the subjective visual horizontal: a sign of unilateral vestibular deficit. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002;128(1):21-7.
77. Strupp M, Arbusow V, Borges Pereira C, Dieterich M, Brandt T. Subjective straight-ahead during neck muscle vibration: effects of ageing. Neuroreport. 1999;10(15):3191-4.
78. Rasmussen AT. Studies of the viiith cranial nerve of man. Laryngoscope. 1940;50(1):67-83. doi: 10.1288/00005537-194001000-00008
79. Manchester D, Woollacott M, Zederbauer-Hylton N, Marin O. Visual, vestibular and somatosensory contributions to balance control in the older adult. J Gerontol. 1989;44(4):M118-27.
80. Rosenhall U. Degenerative patterns in the aging human vestibular neuro-epithelia. Acta Otolaryngol. 1973;76(2):208-20.
81. Kobayashi H, Hayashi Y, Higashino K, Saito A, Kunihiro T, Kanzaki J, et al. Dynamic and static subjective visual vertical with aging. Auris Nasus Larynx. 2002;29(4):325-8.
Files
IssueVol 27 No 1 (2018) QRcode
SectionReview Article(s)
Keywords
Vestibular function tests visual perception subjective visual vertical vestibular labyrinth vestibular diseases

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Bolandi Shirejini M, Farahani A, Nazeri A. The application of subjective visual vertical in balance system disorders. Aud Vestib Res. 2017;27(1):1-11.