Rules and Mechanistic Principles for the Ontogenetic Establishment of Vestibular Function

The inner ear is formed by semicircular canal and otolith endorgans, responsible for detection of angular and linear head/body acceleration, respectively. The shape of the endorgans is important for the mechanic of the endolymph flow with morphological variations that influences the capacity to sense head motion. Consequently, ontogenetic increases in size and change in shape are key determinants for the maturation of vestibular function. In fact, semicircular canal radii determine the developmental onset of angular vestibulo-ocular reflexes and the spatial tuning of otolith-evoked vestibulo-ocular reflexes in fish and frog larvae with considerably impact on gaze stabilization strategies.