Pulsed infrared stimulation evoked electrical potential in mouse vestibular system

•To improve accuracy of VsEP, we designed an infrared optical stimulation approach to stimulate mouse vestibular system and measured the evoked potential.•IR pulses were delivered to mice with different vestibular dysfunction levels and the evoked potential was recorded.•We found that: 1) IR stimulation can generate VsEP evoked potential in vestibular system (IR-VsEP); 2) intact HCs and fully functional synaptic transmission are crucial for efficient IR-induced vestibular system stimulation. To improve accuracy of VsEP and avoid the inherent limitation of mechanical vibration, we designed an infrared optical stimulation approach to stimulate mouse vestibular system and measured the evoked potential. IR pulses (1871 nm, 30 pps and 100 μs pulse width) were delivered to mice with different vestibular dysfunction levels and the evoked potential was recorded. The result suggests that the amplitude and latency of the IR-evoked potential (IR-VsEP) were significantly associated with vestibular function integrity. Immunofluorescence staining confirmed that magnitude of IR-VsEP decreased was consistent with the loss of HCs. Micro-CT imaging revealed that the optical fiber was orientating towards the vestibular system. Taken together, we found that: 1) IR stimulation can generate VsEP evoked potential in vestibular system (IR-VsEP), which can be potentially used for vestibular function evaluation; 2) intact HCs and fully functional synaptic transmission are crucial for efficient IR-induced vestibular system stimulation.