Clinical Evaluation of Patients with Vestibular Dysfunction

Figure 2

The real vestibular system. Impulses are carried from the horizontal semicircular canals and the otolith organs to the vestibular nuclei. Ascending and descending pathways that travel to various cranial nerve nuclei III, IV,VI are depicted here. Few fibers go directly to the cerebellum without synapsing in the vestibular nuclei. Ascending fibers travel through MLF to control ipsilateral and contralateral eye movements. Descending pathways travel to the neck and trunk through the vestibulocollic and vestibulospinal pathways to control neck and body positions to maintain balance.