MadSci Network: Zoology |
Hi Karen-
     That's a good question! I did some looking around,
and though I
couldn't find anyone studying turtle dizziness, I did find a good clue.
People have
studied the turtle vestibular system - the system in the inner ear that is
responsible for
detecting body movement and keeping the balance.
     It's also the system that's responsible for the
feeling of
dizziness if we move around too wildly. Therefore, we can likely assume
that if turtles
have a vestibular system that's relatively similar to ours, it's possible
to make them
dizzy by spinning them around.
     I suppose you could test it, although I don't know if
turtles walk fast enough to really sway back and forth like when we're
dizzy. They may
stop moving altogether, or pull into their shells.
     I hope that helps!
Here are some links about the vestibular system and dizziness
The organization of the vestibular system (see part D): http://thalamus.wustl.edu/course/audvest.html-Alex G
Disorders of dizziness and the vestibular system: http://www.onbalance.com/patient_info/dizziness.aspx
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Zoology.