Effect of cognitive load on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials

While vestibular responses have traditionally been viewed as reflexive and brainstem-mediated, emerging evidence suggests they are susceptible to modulation by higher-order cognitive processes. This study aimed to investigate the influence of cognitive load, induced by the Stroop task, on Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (cVEMPs) in healthy young adults. Thirty healthy right-handed participants (aged 20-25 years) with no history of audio-vestibular, neurological, or musculoskeletal conditions underwent baseline and dual-task cVEMP recordings. The dual-task condition involved the visual Stroop task presented concurrently with acoustic stimulation. Latency (P1, N1) and amplitude (P1-N1) parameters were extracted from the cVEMP waveforms and compared across conditions. All participants exhibited identifiable cVEMP responses under both conditions. A statistically significant reduction in P1-N1 amplitude was observed during the Stroop task compared to baseline (p < 0.02), while P1 and N1 latencies remained unchanged. The asymmetry ratio did not differ significantly between conditions. These findings suggest that cognitive state should be considered during vestibular testing and support the growing recognition of central cognitive influences on vestibular processing. Cognitive load significantly attenuates cVEMP amplitude without affecting latency, suggesting top-down modulation of vestibular reflex strength.