The function of the vestibular system is not as obvious as those of vision, hearing, touch or smell. Vestibular dysfunction, however, is clearly apparent where lesions are present. It is probably for this reason that the vestibular sense was not discovered until the nineteenth century and that clinicians have continued to playa major role in basic vestibular research right up to the present. The relationship between basic and clinical research is certainly stronger in the vesti bular field than in that of tactile sensation, for instance, as testified by the work of clinicians as MENIERE,...

The details of the receptor mechanism are not yet fully understood for any sensory system. However, sufficient data are available (for the vestibular system and for other systems) to permit meaningful tracking of the sensory messages through the nervous system and via conscious experience. The reception, process ing, storage and output of information in man and other animals, as done by means of receptors, neurons, secretory cells and muscle fibers, are collectively referred to as mind. Sensory physiologists tend to disbelieve in extrasensory perception. Sensory physiology in general is an...