Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) in response to a loud air conducted sound (ACS) recorded from extraocular muscles, the so-called ocular VEMP (oVEMP), has been confirmed to be able to evaluate utricular function. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sleep deprivation (SD) on oVEMP parameters. oVEMPs were recorded in 20 male healthy subjects once after an ordinary sleep and once after 26–29 h of SD. The latencies of peak N1 and P1, N1-P1 amplitude, N1-P1 interval, and asymmetry ratio (AR) of oVEMP recorded from both eyes under normal sleep and SD conditions were 10.04 ± 0.59？ms versus 10.56 ± 0.69？ms (left eye), 14.95 ± 0.92？ms versus 15.64 ± 1.05？ms (left eye), and 7.44 ± 2.86？μV versus 5.26 ± 2.15？μV (left eye); 10.08 ± 0.66？ms versus 10.64 ± 0.73？ms (right eye), 14.88 ± 0.89？ms versus 15.59 ± 1.02？ms (right eye), and 7.16 ± 2.88？μV versus 5.04 ± 2.05？μV(right eye); 10.40 ± 5.81% versus 11.43 ± 6.37%, respectively. After SD, the latencies of oVEMP were delayed and N1-P1 amplitude was lower, whereas N1-P1 interval and AR remained unchanged. The present study showed that oVEMP test could be used to evaluate the fatigue induced by SD. 1. Introduction According to current US Army doctrine, aviation units may be required to operate around the clock during times of conflict. Continuous day-night operations provide obvious operational and tactical advantages on the battlefield [1]. Although aircraft can function for extended periods without adverse effects, human operators are susceptible to the influences of sleep deprivation (SD) and need periodic sleep for the restitution of both body and brain [2, 3]. Normal vestibular function is emphasized in the aviation medical literature as being a prerequisite for correct spatial orientation in flight [4]. However, the known effects of SD on vestibular function are less clearly defined. Some studies concern posturographic measurements after sleep loss: Uimonen et al. [5] showed that postural stability did not deteriorate after 24？h of sleep loss. Schlesinger et al. [6] found that while postural sway was not changed in response to SD, it increased when a secondary information processing task was associated. With regard to the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) response, only three studies so far have described the effects of sleep loss on the VOR performance. Wolfe and Brown [7] firstly found no significant difference in VOR after 25–28？h of SD. Collins [8] also reported that the VOR velocity and duration remained unchanged after 24？h of SD and decreased from 48 to 52？h of SD. Quarck et al. [9] evaluated
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