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The Vestibular System

The Vestibular System

The vestibular system is a set of inner ear structures that provide a sense of balance and spatial orientation. This system is comprised of structures within the labyrinth of the inner ear, including the cochlea and two otolith organs—the utricle and saccule. The labyrinth also contains three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—that are oriented on different planes.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects

Published on: September 18, 2012

Vestibular cues improve landmark-based route navigation: A simulated driving study.

Yasaman Jabbari¹, Darren M Kenney², Martin von Mohrenschildt³

¹Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada. jabbariy@mcmaster.ca.

Memory & Cognition

|May 21, 2021

Summary

Human navigation relies on self-motion and landmarks. Vestibular cues enhance route navigation, but only when proximal landmarks are present, showing landmarks are key for integrating sensory information.

Keywords:

Distal landmarks Motion simulator Proximal landmarks Spatial navigation Vestibular cues Virtual driving Visual cues

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Last Updated: Nov 4, 2025

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A Networked Desktop Virtual Reality Setup for Decision Science and Navigation Experiments with Multiple Participants

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Published on: August 26, 2018

Area of Science:

Human spatial navigation
Vestibular system function
Sensory integration in navigation

Background:

Humans utilize self-motion and landmark cues for environmental navigation.
The vestibular system is crucial for navigation in many species.
The interaction between vestibular cues and landmarks in human navigation is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how vestibular cues interact with different types of landmarks (proximal, distal, none) during virtual route learning and navigation in humans.
To determine if vestibular input enhances navigation performance based on landmark availability.

Main Methods:

A motion simulator was used to manipulate the presence or absence of vestibular cues.
Participants completed a virtual navigation task in a town with proximal landmarks, distal landmarks, or no landmarks.
Navigation performance was assessed by the ability to retrace learned routes and reach a target destination.

Main Results:

A significant interaction was found between vestibular cues and proximal landmarks.
Vestibular cues significantly improved route navigation performance specifically when proximal landmarks were present.
No significant improvement in navigation was observed with vestibular cues when distal landmarks or no landmarks were present.

Conclusions:

The effectiveness of vestibular cues in enhancing human route navigation is contingent upon the presence of proximal landmarks.
Landmarks play a critical role in the successful integration of vestibular information for spatial navigation.
These findings highlight the interplay between different sensory systems in human navigation.