Affiliations: [a] Departments of Otolaryngology and Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA | [b] Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Note: [1] Reprint address: Carey D. Balaban, Ph.D., Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Eye & Ear Institute, 203 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Abstract: Recent anatomical studies have identified a network of central neural circuits that appear to integrate vestibular and autonomic information. Like vestibulo-ocular and vestibulospinal circuits, these pathways appear to be under inhibitory modulation by distinct regions in the medial aspect of the cerebellar cortex. These central circuits have the potential to explain the known influence of vestibular stimulation on autonomic motor responses through descending effects on brain stem autonomic regions. In a more global context, the extensive convergence of vestibular and autonomic information in both vestibular and autonomic brain regions is consistent with the concept that vestibular and visceral information (for example, blood pooling and visceral proprioception) are used to form a central representation of gravitoinertial parameters during movements. This representation can influence neural circuitry involved in postural control, cardiovascular control, perception of the spatial vertical and emotional or affective responses.
Keywords: anatomy, vestibular nuclei, cerebellum, autonomic nervous system
