Why Getting Dizzy is Kinda Like Temporary Brain Damage

↓ More info and sources below ↓

We’ve all gotten dizzy before… but have you ever gotten WEIRD DIZZY? I teamed up with Vanessa Hill from BrainCrat to answer the question “why do we get dizzy?” and in the process we learned about some very strange and hilarious ways to get extra-special dizzy! Get ready to learn about your vestibular system, the system that lets you know where your body is in space. You don’t even notice your vestibular system is there… until it stops working right! #dizzy #neuroscience #vestibular

-----------
REFERENCES:

Blakley, B. W., & Siegel, M. (1995). Feeling dizzy: Understanding and treating dizziness, vertigo, and other balance disorders. New York: Macmillan.

Brandt, T. (2003). Vertigo: Its multisensory syndromes (2nd ed.). London: Springer.

Ekdale, E. G. (2016). Form and function of the mammalian inner ear. Journal of Anatomy, 228(2), 324-337.

Hayes, S. H., Dinga, D. Slavia, R. J., & Allman, B. (2013). Chapter 1 - Anatomy and physiology of the external, middle and inner ear. In Handbook of Clinical Neurophysiology (pp. 3-23).

Plishka, C. M. (2015). A clinician’s guide to balance and dizziness: Evaluation and treatment. Thorofare, New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated.

Steward O. (2000) The Vestibular System. In Functional Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY.

Welgampola, M. S., Bradshaw, A., & Halmagyi, G. M. (2011). Practical neurology part 4: Dizziness on head movement. Medical Journal of Australia, 195 (9): 518-522. doi: 10.5694/mja11.11001

-----------
FOLLOW US for more curiosity:

Twitter

Instagram

Merch

Facebook

Books from our episodes:

[braincraft]

I still feel queasy when I watch this. Nice working with you, I think? 🤢

[MrAlsfan]

I love these videos. As a 72 year old senior, I'm learning so much from outlets like this.

[anastasiachristina]

This video is just an excuse for me to spin around the house, for science.

[MisterItchy]

I got an ear infection in both ears one time and every movement of my head made me feel like I was spinning. I can't imagine the suffering of people with that problem chronically.

[charleshanson]

Getting dizzy is kids' first psychotropic experience and it is the gateway to hard stuff!!

[KeyushTheStuntDog]

I get vestibular migraines, a rare type of migraine that instead of pain, you get dizziness and vertigo. Lots of things can trigger it, from low or high pitched sounds, to light, heat, cold and sitting on something with a slight wobble or something in my periphery swaying like clothing on a rack in a shop. It also comes in different strengths, from a short wave of dizziness, to it lasting minutes or even hours of the room moving sideways.
I've had lots of tests and although I have some strange symptoms, they decided it was mostly likely vestibular migraines.

[mksabourinable]

7:10 - that's actually what happens in autistics!! Our sensory processing is more conscious than automatic, so we don't become desensitized to things very easily, which is why we suffer from sensory overload! It's literally Sensory Processing Disorder that causes us our overstimulation, because the part(s) of the brain that handles our sensory processing is not functioning the way it does in most people! It also means that we end up with processing issues, like auditory processing issues such as increased difficulties understanding what's being said, being unable to process what you're looking at when you're overwhelmed (resulting in a weird state where you're looking at something that you know you should recognize but just.... Can't figure out what it is. Even if it's something you've seen or interacted with a million times. Some even believe this might have something to do with our difficulties with facial recognition, because faces tend to be overwhelming for us!)

We also have issues with proprioception, which is why we are so clumsy - dyspraxia! It's basically a disability on the sense of proprioception the way blindness is a disability on the sense of sight. In most cases it just leads to a lack of coordination, ie clumsiness, but in severe cases it can be so bad they can't do basic stuff like walking, feeding themselves, bathing, etc.
Btw dyspraxia is far from exclusive to autistics. For example apparently Daniel Radcliffe has it!

Anyway enough rambling about autism sorry lol

[ronifurr]

My brother is Deaf and actually doesn’t get dizzy. He can spin for hours and never gets dizzy. He had bacterial meningitis as a baby which is what caused his deafness. Because of that, his inner is mostly scar tissue which is basically bone. So the theory is since he doesn’t have fluid in his ears he doesn’t get dizzy. It’s quite the sight to see. We tell him it’s a super power!

[realtan]

Near the end of last summer, I was infected with a virus that affected my vestibular system. It was absolutely horrible. I had such bad vertigo to the point where I could barely even sit up. I was stuck lying still in my bed for days; any movement would make me feel worse. Incredibly debilitating. It made me very grateful for how our bodies can do so many amazing things unconsciously.

[beckraethington]

When I was younger I absolutely loved the feeling of being dizzy and did stuff like this all the time. I had this one game in particular that I called "rollercoaster" where I would spin around as fast as I could for about 30 seconds and then sat down super fast with my eyes closed. This made me feel like I was on a rollercoaster (hence the name). The effect only lasted like 10 seconds max so I always jumped back up to do it again and again. Very fond memories to this day.

[overcookedwater]

When I was 8 and got nothing to do at home, I would sometimes spin very fast pretending like I'm a spinning top, then stop suddenly to lie on the floor and experience the dizziness. Moments later I would ask myself "why did you do this" while trying not to puke.

[ОлегКозлов-ют]

Me:it's time to learn some hard science
Joe: spins Vanessa around until she swears out of dizziness
Me: I'm not dissapointed

[Chikara]

I wonder, though, why do some people enjoy stimulating their vestibular sense, often via roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, or the aforementioned office chairs? And why do many people like it when they are young, but not when they are older? Edit: I am thinking about not the mechanics of why happens, but why we derive pleasure from the experience and go forth to seek it? And why we don't get the same pleasure when we're older?

[TMWriting]

The construction of those semicircular canals is one of those facts that really sticks in my brain and makes me absolutely marvel at the power of evolution. On a macro level, evolution makes sense to me - different skin colours, the placement of the limbs etc. all makes intuitive sense. I understand how a creature logically responds to environmental pressures and incorporates those attributes. But a series of tubes on either side of your head, each oriented to a different axis and filled with fluid, the movement of which your brain is able to effortlessly decipher without even a moment of conscious thought? That’s incredible. That blows my mind. It forces me to confront the true scale of what evolution is and can do.

Frankly, it’s kind of beautiful.

[LG-jbzs]

ive been getting vertigo episodes and migraines ever since I was a kid... After working with a physio therapist on something else and talking about it, she made me realize that getting a number of concussions in your childhood and not getting any follow up treatment can REALLY mess up your vestibular sense!

[blankblank]

Anime characters when they are about to go insane 5:46

[ciervo]

Man, these videos are crafted so carefully and lovely, you guys make science not only easy but genuinely fascinating

[Luftwaffe]

This video is awesome. I am a physical therapist that does vestibular rehabilitation, and I plan to recommend this video to patients. So many people don't understand their dizziness, and this is perfect.

[dmark_]

the vertical dizziness is the worst out of the three 🤮🤮

[kiniburk]

Just discovered this series and binging like crazy. Joe's presentation is so relatable.