2-Minute Neuroscience: Vertigo

Vertigo involves the illusion of movement, where someone either feels like they or the environment around them is moving—usually in a spinning manner. In this video I discuss the role of the vestibular system and related structures in producing vertigo.

TRANSCRIPT:

Vertigo involves the illusion of movement, where someone either feels like they, or the environment around them, is moving—usually in a spinning manner. Vertigo may range in severity from mild to so severe that it’s difficult to maintain one’s balance, and it frequently involves other symptoms as well, including sweating, nausea, and vomiting. While vertigo is often described as dizziness, dizziness is a more general term, and vertigo is considered a subtype of dizziness. There are many potential causes of vertigo, including conditions such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, migraine, or Meniere’s disease, as well as a number of other causes such as infections, head injuries, and tumors, among others.

Our sense of stability is maintained primarily by the activity of the vestibular system, which includes the semicircular canals and otolith organs of the inner ear as well as the vestibular nuclei in the brainstem. The inner ear structures receive information about head movement and communicate this information to other brain regions, including the brainstem, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex. Vertigo is typically associated with a disruption in function of either the vestibular system or one of the regions it communicates with to maintain our sense of balance and stability.

Vertigo can be classified as peripheral or central, with peripheral vertigo referring to vertigo typically caused by dysfunction in the vestibular structures of the inner ear or of the vestibular nerve, which carries information from those structures to the brain. Central vertigo involves disruption to regions of the central nervous system that handle vestibular information. The symptoms a patient is experiencing can help to determine if vertigo has a peripheral or central origin; for example, peripheral vertigo is more likely to result in short-lived episodes with more severe nausea and vomiting, while central vertigo may cause longer episodes that involve other neurological symptoms–but of course these commonalities may not hold true in every case.

REFERENCES:

Baloh RW. Vertigo. Lancet. 1998 Dec 5;352(9143):1841-6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(98)05430-0. PMID: 9851400.

Labuguen RH. Initial evaluation of vertigo. Am Fam Physician. 2006 Jan 15;73(2):244-51. Erratum in: Am Fam Physician. 2006 May 15;73(10):1704. PMID: 16445269.

Stanton M, Freeman AM. Vertigo. 2023 Mar 13. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan–. PMID: 29493978.

[violetspectral]

i rarely ever write youtube comments, but i just want to thank you for making such concise yet educational videos. studying neuroscience is so much more digestible with your stuff! <3

[LLJR]

I was robbed hit with an ax suffered a skull fracture to the temporal bone which resulted in 7th 8th cranial nerve damage which gave me Vertigo Epilepsy hearing loss tinnitus facial paralysis and PTSD so I’m like a patient of your 2 minute videos however o listen to them to understand my residual impairments

[gmxkey]

Thanks, your 2 minute talks are pretty good. Someone here mentioned Vestibular Migraine which has a dizziness component. You made one distinction that is very useful for me, the difference between peripheral and central. In my case I woke from a coma due to sepsis and acute ketoacidosis. I have symptoms you describe for a couple of years now. It seems this will be the new me. As you point out (and my doctors glossed over) my issue is not with the vestibular function but how the brain processes it. That's a big help, understanding the source and that it is likely the new me.

[batcatd]

Great video, also one way to differential central or peruoheral, peripheral vertigo nystagmus usually is horizontal and rotational, lessens or disappears when the patient focuses the gaze, central are generally vertical and doesnt lessens with focuse gaze.

[Glitchs]

Awesome video! Though there’s one correction I want to point out, per the FAA - The eye provides visual and spatial orientation, which is responsible for providing about 80% of the sensory inputs needed to maintain orientation.
Although our vestibular systems are crucial for orientation, we humans do not perform so well without seeing a relative horizon.
If you close your eyes in a maneuvering airplane, you would not be able to guess how you’re oriented after some time.

[arturgrygierczyk]

How and/or why can such a dysfunction in the central nervous system cause vomiting? Can it be, for example, a result of dysfunctional communication between organs?

[nathannicholson-rouz]

That's actually so interesting!!! 🤔🤔🤔

[figrollin]

vestibular migraines are fascinating. and I have a personal theory that this is a big component of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.

[mayastrett]

Would you ever do a video on Functional Neurological disorder?

[aamirrazak]

Thank you for yet another informative and helpful video! Is it possible that vertigo involves some part of the sympathetic nervous system, as it generates symptoms like sweating and nausea which are similar to those of a stressed individual?

[chocolate-soulja]

Wow! I didn't know u needed your ears to keep u balanced 😅- I thought everything was in the eyes.

[Gambit]

Please make a shirt, sticker or something with the evil brain face. The face in the middle of the brain looks like an evil genius