The JMU Vestibular Science is led by Dr. Erin G. Piker and includes Ph.D. students, Au.D. students, and undergraduates working together in a dynamic research environment. This laboratory strives to facilitate endeavors that promote our understanding of the vestibular sciences while also providing a “hands-on” training environment for student scholarship. The Vestibular Sciences Lab focuses on investigations of vestibular physiology and perception across the lifespan and clinical applications of diagnostics of vestibular system disorders. We have an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Clinard and the JMU Auditory Perception and Physiology Lab investigating vestibular physiology using novel stimulus methods and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials. We also collaborate with Dr. Riska at the Hearing and Balance Research Lab at Duke University on an NIH funded study examining the mechanisms that explain the association between hearing loss and falls.
Primary areas of study in the lab include:
Vestibular physiology
Vestibular psychophysics
Age-related changes in the vestibular and balance systems
Investigations in the fundamentals of vestibular diagnostic assessments
American Hearing Research Foundation announces 2019 Grant Recipients. Dr. Clinard and Dr. Piker received grant funding for their proposal titled “A more sensitive measure of age-related changes in the vestibular system: Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) elicited by amplitude-modulated tones.”
“Balance: a dizzying journey through the science of our most delicate sense” by Carol Svec is a book written in layman’s language for anyone interested in learning about their balance system. It is a great book written in an informal, easy-to-read, style and provides an overview of the vestibular sensory system. The book features various vestibular researchers from around the country, including Dr. Piker in chapter 3.