Abstract:

The vestibular system is a complicated operating system contributing to monitor and control balance and has functions such as motion perception, gaze, and truck stability. More recently, the vestibular system has been recognized for its contribution to emotion, memory and social cognition. Patients with vestibular dysfunction present with loss of balance, blurred vision, vertigo and so on, resulting in serious social-behavioral impairments. At the early stage of vestibular dysfunction, the vestibular system often experiences a spontaneous recovery from the static and dynamic deficit, i.e. vestibular compensation. As an extrinsic intervention, vestibular rehabilitation can actively promote the compensation in unilateral vestibular impairment. This article reviews the latest research progresses of vestibular compensation mechanism and vestibular rehabilitation ideas, i.e. the best vestibular compensation relies on cross-talk windows between retraining processes and post-lesion brain-plasticity mechanisms, rather than rehabilitation techniques.

Key words: balance, vestibular dysfunction, vestibular compensation, centric plasticity, vestibular rehabilitation