Peripheral Vestibular Pathology in Schizophrenic Infants

Abstract

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> Discussing their finding of vestibular hyporeactivity in infants at risk for schizophrenia (Archives35:963-971, 1978), Drs Fish and Dixon state that the transitory nature of the decreased caloric nystagmus rules out the possibility of an organic lesion of the vestibular system. If this is intended to mean that there cannot be any peripheral vestibular dysfunction, then this is surely an incorrect inference. For a start, there exist temporary conditions of impaired end-organ sensitivity due to fluctuating organic disorders, like the deafness of acute otitis media or early Meniere's disease. Second, the possibility of an irritative as opposed to a paretic vestibular disorder has not been considered. In actual fact, studies on the vestibular system in autistic children strongly implicate a peripheral dysfunction, and the autonomic instability in "schizophrenic" infants can be attributed to aural pathology. It is commonly assumed that labyrinthine vertigo is due to destruction of