Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The vestibular system, in vertebrates, is a sensory system that creates the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance. Together with the cochlea , a part of the auditory system , it constitutes the labyrinth of the inner ear in most mammals .
The vestibular nerve is one of the two branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve (the cochlear nerve being the other). In humans the vestibular nerve transmits sensory information from vestibular hair cells located in the two otolith organs (the utricle and the saccule ) and the three semicircular canals via the vestibular ganglion of Scarpa .
Problems with balance can occur when there is a disruption in any of the vestibular, visual, or proprioceptive systems. Abnormalities in balance function may indicate a wide range of pathologies from causes like inner ear disorders, low blood pressure, brain tumors, and brain injury including stroke. [citation needed]
The main function of the vestibulocerebellum is to receive sensory input from the vestibular nuclei in the brainstem and to regulate equilibrium, balance, and the vestibulo-ocular reflex accordingly. The vestibulo-ocular reflex, one of the primary areas affected by vestibulocerebellar syndrome, is responsible for counterrotating the eyes in ...
The vestibular nerve travels from the vestibular system of the inner ear. The vestibular ganglion houses the cell bodies of the bipolar neurons and extends processes to five sensory organs. Three of these are the cristae located in the ampullae of the semicircular canals. Hair cells of the cristae activate afferent receptors in response to ...
Vestibular compensation after unilateral or bilateral vestibular system damage can be accomplished by sensory addition and sensory substitution. Sensory substitution occurs when any remaining vestibular function, vision, or light touch of a stable surface substitute for the lost function.
Vestibular apparatus; Crucially, the brain can obtain sufficient information to maintain balance if any two of the three systems are intact. Sensorimotor integration is carried out by the cerebellum and by the dorsal column-medial lemniscus tract. The motor pathway is the corticospinal (pyramidal) tract and the medial and lateral vestibular tracts.
Abnormal oculomotor test results may indicate either systemic or central pathology as opposed to peripheral (vestibular) pathology. Optokinetics generally are used as a cross-check on abnormal responses to oculomotor tests. Both of these tests use a "light bar" involving a moving light (usually red) which the patient will track with the eyes.