This is the most odd question I have encountered. If you are comfortable with reading papers in Russian then your question can be elaborated: 

On a method for studying the vestibular function in rats. Voinova, I. I.. Byulleten' Eksperimental'Noi Biologii i Meditsiny 66.9 (1968): 121-123.   

 Vestibular tests in investigating the spectrum of the psychotropic agents' action. Voinova, I. I.; Lavretskaya, E. F.; Privol'neva, T. P.. Farmakologiya i Toksikologiya 38.6 (Nov-Dec 1975): 658-659.

Used a variety of substances, administered at 3 dosage levels (2, 10, and 33% of LD-sub-5-sub-0), in vestibular tests on rabbits. The vestibular receptors were stimulated by washing the tympanic membrane with water at a lower than body temperature. The substances were observed to have 3 types of effect on vestibulo-somatic and vestibulo-vegetative reactions: (a) strengthening of the response with decreased habituation to stimulation (chlorpromazine, tyzercin); (b) weakening of the response and strengthening of habituation (elenium, large doses of imipramine); (c) a decrease in the response with acceleration of habituation (caffeine, small doses of imipramine, and neuroleptics with no sedative effect--triftazine, haloperidol).

"This is the most odd question I have encountered."

Hence it should be easy enough to shoot down the whole idea.

So now psychotropic drugs can be added to the list of psychiatric treatments that involve the vestibular system.   Not a coincidence, surely?   Is there any evidence that rough sea crossings are therapeutic?

You seem to be a very funny guy. Yes rough sea crossings can be therapeutic. Do you want me to check the literature:)

" Do you want me to check the literature"

Yes, please.   In the meantime, I have just found serendipitously an excellent article on sea-sickness by C Pellarin in Annales d'Hygiene 1847;37:307.  This was before the vestibular system was known about, but he likens sea-sickness to that experienced by some persons on swings (le mal de mer en petit).  On the therapeutic use of sea voyages, he writes:

"Esquirol et M.le docteur Blanche en ont tres judiceusement conseille l'emploi dans la manie recente.  Mais il est arrive, dans le petit nombre de tentatives qui ont ete faites d'apres leurs indications, il est arrive, dis-je, ce qu'on aurait pu aisement prevoir d'apres la vraie theorie des nausees maritimes, c'est que les maniaques, fortement excites, n'ont point ressenti le mal de mer, tandis que les medecins qui les accompagnaient y ont ete en proie pendant presque tout le temps qu'ils ont passe a bord avec leurs malades.  Ce sont des experiences a recommencer dans de meilleures conditions...

A raison de la puissante influence sedative et hyposthenisante du mal de mer, je ne doute pas qu'on doive un jour tirer de son emploi les plus grand avantages...dans les affections cerebrales aigues.."

We are still waiting for that day, though recently successful vestibular treatment (caloric stimulation) of cases of mania has been reported.

Crossing the sea from They to We? The unfolding of knowing and practising in collaborative research. Marcos, Javier; Denyer, David. Management Learning 43.4 (Sep 2012): 443-459.

Voici! J'ai trouvé quelque chose pour vous, M. le Docteur. Je vous souhaite une bonne continuation de la journée

Okay, that one takes the cake. Good luck w/ the approvals for that.

However, you are right that this is one of the oldest applications of vestibular stimuli. There is a fellow in Britain who writes interesting vestibular history papers. His name slips my mind but if you open my recent publication list and get me email, I will look him up from work for you.

My view is that some of the best evidence for the "calming" effects of vestibular stimuli on psychiatric folks are somewhat confounded with the "sopite syndrome." In other words, it needs to be understood whether the "resetting" is motion-sickness-related. I can send you more on this if you email me separately.

"However, you are right that this is one of the oldest applications of vestibular stimuli"

Thank you for independently confirming the common thread of vestibular activity in these early treatments, which I don't recall being noted previously.   This surely cannot be accidental or coincidental.

Was the author Nicholas Wade?

There is a rare and recently discovered Developmental Topographical Disorientation Disorder. Two persons when children found that they could be remedy this by spinning round like Wonder Woman. This is an example of the vestibular resetting of the person's spatial map.

Unthinkable by Helen Thomson (2018)

An IgNobel prize has just been awarded for roller coaster treatment for kidney stone. This has only a very limited application, whereas untreated psychiatric disorder is far commoner. Here is a recap of how acute resetting of the vestibular system may be a component of many old and new psychiatric treatments. Note that six different ways of activating the vestibular system are implicated:

A rehash of the very old head dunking in cold water treatment! Caloric activation of the inner ear and resultant dizziness is very common.

"Cold Water Swimming May Ease Depression

📷NEUROSCIENCE NEWS SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 ...

For the first time it has been shown open water swimming could be an effective treatment for depression.

A case study published in British Medical Journal Case Reports suggests open water swimming might help people with depression be able to give up their medication and live happier lives.

The study, led by television doctor Chris van Tulleken, of University College London, and co-authored by two University of Portsmouth scientists, highlights the case of a woman with severe anxiety and depression who once she began open water swimming, immediately started feeling better.

She continued to swim and, as the weeks went by, her symptoms of depression and anxiety faded to the point she was able to stop taking medication entirely.

Two years on, she remains drug-free, and she’s still swimming."

When I put this question up 5y ago I thought dunking the head in cold water was a discredited and ridiculed treatment, but now it is yours for only $60K at the top US psychiatric hospital! I have only just found out about DBT, so will now check if this water effect is mediated by a reset of the vestibular system which regulates the autonomic nervous system.

"At elegant McLean psychiatric outpost, $2,150 a day, and insurance is not welcome

By Liz Kowalczyk GLOBE STAFF  SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

First in a series of occasional articles on how money affects patients and their care.

CAMDEN, Maine — In elegant rooms with sparkling views of Penobscot Bay, some of Harvard’s most skilled psychiatrists treat patients from across the United States — football players referred by the NFL, lawyers sent by their firms, a school janitor with a wealthy brother.

What they have in common is the means to pay $2,150 a day for a minimum of 30 days of treatment at Borden Cottage, a remote outpost of McLean Hospital, perhaps the country’s best-known psychiatric facility. Credit cards are welcome. Health insurance is not...

Fortunately, McLean had a specialized program, 3East, for teen girls and young women with just this diagnosis. The 10-year-old unit is considered one of the best in the world. It is also private-pay. It is not at all plush like Borden, but it’s still pricey — $1,435 a day for intensive specialized care. McLean opened a self-pay unit for teenage boys and young men at the same price last year.

“The only thing we had to do was figure out how to pay for all this,’’ said Henry Echeverria, her father.

She spent six weeks in the program, learning to calm “hot” emotions by chewing ice or dunking her head in cold water — part of a proven approach called dialectical behavior therapy. It aims to build coping skills such as mindfulness and emotion regulation to help patients get through crises without harming themselves. Cold water automatically slows heart rate and respiration, which reduces feelings of distress."

"Question added Mental Health [Quora Aug 9 2020]

I notice if I spin in a random direction with my head, my voices in my head vanish. Why?

2 Answers · Last followed 20h ago"

Can anyone confirm this significant observation?