Orientation of Listing's plane in normals and in patients with unilateral vestibular deafferentation

The parameters characterizing Listing's plane have been determined in a group of normal subjects, and in patients who have had unilateral vestibular deafferentation on the right or left side. All patients were well compensated. There was no statistically significant difference in the orientation of Listing's plane between either of these groups: Listing's plane was approximately perpendicular to the horizontal stereotaxic plane and showed a systematic temporal tilt, i.e., it tilted right for the right eye, and left for the left eye. We also found a considerable intersubject variability in the orientation of Listing's plane. The effect of this variability on the interpretation of three-dimensional eye position and velocity data is discussed.