Departments of Otolaryngology and Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Eye & Ear Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Address for correspondence: Carey D. Balaban, Ph.D., Departments of Otolaryngology and Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Eye & Ear Institute, 203 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Voice: (412) 647-2298; fax: (412) 647-0108.
cbalaban{at}pitt.edu
Identification of the role of gene regulation in vestibular
compensation is one aspect of a larger issue: the identification
of molecular bases for plasticity in multiple vestibulo-ocular,
vestibulo-spinal, vestibulo-collic, and vestibulo-autonomic
responses. To achieve this goal, it is incumbent on investigators
to examine molecular events within the contexts of the single
neuron, the location of the neuron in pathways, and the timing
of the molecular events relative to behavioral compensation.
Hence, the goal of identifying molecular bases for a particular
compensatory response (e.g., the disappearance of spontaneous
nystagmus in the light or the disappearance of static head tilt)
requires careful attention to the time course of physiologic
compensation and the location of the effects within central
pathways that have the potential to affect the responses. The
effects of impeding these site-specific and time-specific changes
can then be tested to determine their role in the compensatory
process. A consideration of the recent literature on molecular
events related to the resolution of spontaneous nystagmus in
the light indicates that a meaningful approach to these issues
requires a broadening of our conceptual approach. Specifically,
one must consider the roles of transcriptional, translational,
and posttranslational events on the turnover of critical signaling
substrates for vestibular compensation.
