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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 6, 2026

Using Unidirectional Rotations to Improve Vestibular System Asymmetry in Patients with Vestibular Dysfunction

Using Unidirectional Rotations to Improve Vestibular System Asymmetry in Patients with Vestibular Dysfunction

Published on: August 30, 2019

Personality changes in patients with vestibular dysfunction.

Paul F Smith¹, Cynthia L Darlington

¹Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medical Sciences, and the Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

|November 7, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The vestibular system, crucial for sensing head movements, also influences cognitive and emotional well-being. Vestibular dysfunction may uniquely contribute to the sense of self, impacting self-motion and self-location perception.

Keywords:

depersonalization derealization out of body experience personality vestibular disorders vestibular function tests

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sensory Systems Biology

Background:

The vestibular system detects head motion, crucial for spatial orientation and balance.
It evolved early for gravity detection, suggesting deep CNS integration.
Vestibular dysfunction causes motor deficits and is linked to cognitive and emotional disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the vestibular system's role beyond motor control.
To explore its contribution to cognitive, emotional, and self-perception disorders.
To propose the vestibular system's unique input to the sense of self.

Main Methods:

Literature review of vestibular system function and dysfunction.
Analysis of reported cognitive, emotional, and personality changes in vestibular disorders.
Exploration of neuroanatomical pathways linking vestibular input to higher brain centers.

Main Results:

Vestibular dysfunction leads to eye movement and postural deficits.
Vestibular loss is associated with cognitive and emotional impairments.
Patients report depersonalization and derealization, suggesting altered self-perception.

Conclusions:

The vestibular system's influence extends to cognitive and emotional domains.
Ascending vestibular pathways to the limbic system and neocortex are vital for spatial orientation.
Vestibular input to areas like the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) may uniquely shape the sense of self.