Which of the following will occur in a girl who suddenly stops spinning after several seconds of spinning to the left?
Correct Answer: The hair cells in the right semicircular canal will depolarize
Description: When the head spins to the left, the vestibular nerve innervating the left horizontal semicircular canal will be stimulated. When the girl stops spinning, the endolymph within the horizontal semicircular canals will continue to move toward the left, pushing the cupula in both horizontal semicircular canals toward the left. In the right horizontal semicircular canal, the cupula moves toward the utricle and bends the stereocilia toward the kinocilium, causing the hair cell to depolarize. Depolarization of the hair cells stimulates the right vestibular nerve, which cause the eyes to move slowly toward the left. Stimulation of the right vestibular nerve also causes the girl to feel that she is spinning to the right or that the world is spinning to the left. As a result, when she reaches for a target, she points to the left of the target (toward the direction she senses the target is moving).
Category:
ENT
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