Associations between vestibular function and cognitive abilities: From basic to clinical approach

Main Article Content

Juan Pablo Faúndez A.
Paul Délano R.

Keywords

Vestibular system, cognition, vestibulopathy, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

The vestibular system is widely known for its role in sensory-motor functions, balan­ce control and gaze stability. In recent decades, several research articles have described the importance of vestibular afferents in the functioning of brain areas related to cogniti- ve skills such as attention, spatial memory, spatial navigation and other visuospatial abilities. Studies involving subjects with vestibulopathy reveal that these individuals show decreased performance on neuropsychological tests; and that patients with neurocogni- tive pathologies, such as mild cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimer’s di- sease, have a greater probability of producing diminished or absent responses in clinical vestibular electrophysiological tests. This literature review focuses on the role played by the vestibular system and its association with cognitive abilities. The review incorpo- rates a description of basic and clinical research that describe the cortical vestibular network and emerging theoretical models linking vestibular function to cognition.

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