Cervical dystonia responsive to acoustic and galvanic vestibular stimulation

We examined the effects of acoustic and galvanic vestibular stimulation in a patient with cervical dystonia. Acoustic stimulation consisted of three conditions: "baseline" (no stimulation), "vestibular" (500 Hz bone-conducted tone bursts), and "control" (5,000 Hz tone bursts). Rectified electromyographic activity in the sternocleidomastoid was measured. Galvanic stimulation (1.5-2.5 mA current steps) was delivered to the mastoids, and head acceleration was measured. Vestibular acoustic stimulation reduced neck muscle activity between 16% and 44% (P < 0.001), and galvanic stimulation reduced head acceleration by 22.5% (P = 0.028). The patient reported subjective improvement in head control. Vestibular stimulation can reduce neck muscle activity in cervical dystonia and give symptomatic relief.