American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Neurology, 6(85), p. 551-552
DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000001829
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Sensations of self-motion and vertigo are common among patients and technologists near MRI scanners and especially near stronger magnetic fields.(1,2) It was recently discovered that all humans with intact vestibular function have nystagmus the entire time they are in a 7T MRI. This nystagmus is due to a Lorentz force arising from the interaction between the MRI magnetic field and normal ionic currents in the inner ear, which induces labyrinthine stimulation by pushing the endolymph onto the semicircular canal cupula.(3-5) The force scales with magnetic field strength, but nystagmus can be seen in magnetic fields of strengths as low as 1.5T.(3</SUP)