A Test to Measure Athletic Skill

1. Twelve ballet dancers with various levels of dancing experience and skill were examined with the visual suppression test using post-rotatory nystagmus (PRVST) and caloric stimulation (CVST).2. The PRVST results showed a suppression rate of 80.7 %, higher than in untrained subjects. The CVST results showed a suppression rate of 80.1%, similar to that in untrained subjects.3. A correlation between the PRVST and CVST suppression rates and length of dancing experience showed that the suppression rate increased as the level of experience and skill rose.4. However, the CVST suppression rates in the two groups with fewer than 3 years and with 3 to 10 years of experience were close to those of untrained subjects. This is different from the PRVST supperssion rates.5. These results indicated that the PRVST and CVST tests can aid in the clinical and quantitative assessment of the functions of the central nervous system in the visual-vestibular interaction in ballet dancers. It is also possible that we have examined the function of the vestibulo-cerebellum in a state that can be thought to be the habituation of visual-vestibular interaction.6. It may also be possible to use the suppression rates of PRVST and CV ST to determine the approximate level of a dancer's experience and skill.