Autonomic reaction to vestibular damage

Abstract

The vestibular system provides inputs to many neurons in the brain stem that participate in autonomic control. This multiplicity of vestibular-autonomic connections plays a variety of roles. Whereas it has been known for decades that unilateral vestibular lesions can result in motion sickness, recent data suggest that the vestibular system participates in making adjustments in blood pressure and respiration that are necessary to maintain homeostasis during movement and changes in posture. Animals with bilateral vestibular lesions are more susceptible to posturally related hypotension than vestibularly intact animals, and it is also possible that orthostatic hypotension after space flight is caused in part by microgravity-related changes in otolith function. Patients with vestibular lesions could also be more vulnerable to respiratory disturbances related to posture, such as obstructive apnea. Vestibular dysfunction has additionally been linked with anxiety disorders, such as agoraphobia, which may result from alteration of vestibular inputs to brain stem monoaminergic neurons (which are known to process these signals). Even sleep disturbances might be connected with vestibular disorders because neurons in the pontine reticular formation that are critical in switching between sleep states may be influenced by labyrinthine inputs. Thus it is likely that vestibular damage will result in a number of parallel disturbances in autonomic function. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1998;119:106-12.)