Acoustically Evoked Vestibular-Related Cortical Potentials

Introduction: The vestibular cortical areae have been under close anatomical and functional imaging scrutiny. fMRI and PET studies found vestibular-related activation on the posterior and fronto-insular margin, in particular PIVC, 3a and 2v. However, the timing of these activations following vestibular stimulation is not known. Loud acoustic stimuli around 500Hz excite the saccular sensory epithelium, resulting in ipsilateral neck muscle activation by the vestibular nuclei and its descending tracts (Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials VEMP). This study explored centrally ascending information associated with t…