Zwergal A, Grabova D, Schöberl F. Vestibular contribution to spatial orientation and navigation.
Curr Opin Neurol 2024;
37:52-58. [PMID:
38010039 PMCID:
PMC10779452 DOI:
10.1097/wco.0000000000001230]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The vestibular system provides three-dimensional idiothetic cues for updating of one's position in space during head and body movement. Ascending vestibular signals reach entorhinal and hippocampal networks via head-direction pathways, where they converge with multisensory information to tune the place and grid cell code.
RECENT FINDINGS
Animal models have provided insight to neurobiological consequences of vestibular lesions for cerebral networks controlling spatial cognition. Multimodal cerebral imaging combined with behavioural testing of spatial orientation and navigation performance as well as strategy in the last years helped to decipher vestibular-cognitive interactions also in humans.
SUMMARY
This review will update the current knowledge on the anatomical and cellular basis of vestibular contributions to spatial orientation and navigation from a translational perspective (animal and human studies), delineate the behavioural and functional consequences of different vestibular pathologies on these cognitive domains, and will lastly speculate on a potential role of vestibular dysfunction for cognitive aging and impeding cognitive impairment in analogy to the well known effects of hearing loss.
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