[Vertigo and dizziness associated with cerebral hemispheric lesions]

To investigate the clinical significance of vertigo and dizziness in diagnosing cerebral cortical lesion, we analyzed 12 patients with supratentorial lesions whose chief complaint was rotational vertigo or non-rotational dizziness. There were 8 patients with right, and 4 with left hemispheric lesions. The lesion was localized in the vicinity of the central sulcus in 3 patients, temporal and/or parietal regions in 6, and occipital region in 3. Vertigo was seen in three patients, two of them with lesions in the vicinity of the central sulcus, and one in the temporo-parietal junction. The other 9 patients complained dizziness. Supratentorial lesions accompanied by dizziness or vertigo were mostly localized in temporal or central areas that were probably analogous to the vestibular cortex proposed by animal studies. Dizziness caused by occipital lesion might be due to imbalance of the neuronal network between the vestibular cortex and occipital lobe.