Effects of posture on cerebellar evoked potentials (CEPs) following brief impulsive stimuli at the mastoid and trunk

Recordings from over the posterior fossa following impulsive acceleration stimuli have shown short latency evoked potentials of presumed cerebellar origin. In this study, we investigated the effect of posture on these cerebellar evoked potentials (CEPs) and their relationship to postural reflexes recorded from the leg muscles evoked by the same stimuli. Nine healthy subjects were tested during lying (supine and prone), sitting and standing. Impulsive accelerations were applied at the mastoid and to truncal (both C7 and sternal) stimulation sites. The effect of vision, eyes open or closed, was investigated for all three stimuli. For the truncal stimuli, the effect of differing leaning conditions during standing was also recorded. CEP amplitudes were correlated for the three stimuli. For C7 stimulation during standing, both CEPs and postural reflexes scaled as the threat to postural stability increased. However, CEPs for all stimuli were present during lying, sitting and standing with amplitude and latency parameters mainly unaffected by posture or vision. In contrast, postural reflexes from the leg muscles were attenuated when not standing, with the effect being more marked for truncal stimuli. We conclude that CEPs evoked by axial and vestibular stimuli are not systematically gated by posture, in contrast to the reflex responses evoked by the same stimuli.