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Review
. 2021 Oct;16(4):258-265.
doi: 10.1016/j.joto.2021.06.001. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Peripheral vestibular system: Age-related vestibular loss and associated deficits

Jennifer Coto  1 , Carmen L Alvarez  2 , Ivette Cejas  1 , Brett M Colbert  1   3 , Bonnie E Levin  4 , Joshua Huppert  1 , Tatjana Rundek  4 , Carey Balaban  5 , Susan H Blanton  6 , David J Lee  7 , David Loewenstein  8 , Michael Hoffer  1 , Xue Zhong Liu  1
Affiliations
Review

Peripheral vestibular system: Age-related vestibular loss and associated deficits

Jennifer Coto et al. J Otol. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Given the interdependence of multiple factors in age-related vestibular loss (e.g., balance, vision, cognition), it is important to examine the individual contributions of these factors with ARVL. While the relationship between the vestibular and visual systems has been well studied (Bronstein et al., 2015), little is known about the association of the peripheral vestibular system with neurodegenerative disorders (Cronin et al., 2017). Further, emerging research developments implicate the vestibular system as an opportunity for examining brain function beyond balance, and into other areas, such as cognition and psychological functioning. Additionally, the bidirectional impact of psychological functioning is understudied in ARVL. Recognition of ARVL as part of a multifaceted aging process will help guide the development of integrated interventions for patients who remain at risk for decline. In this review, we will discuss a wide variety of characteristics of the peripheral vestibular system and ARVL, how it relates to neurodegenerative diseases, and correlations between ARVL and balance, vision, cognitive, and psychological dysfunction. We also discuss clinical implications as well as future directions for research, with an emphasis on improving care for patients with ARVL.

Keywords: Age-related vestibular loss; Balance; Cognitive; Peripheral vestibular system; Psychological; Vision.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age-related vestibular loss and associated deficits.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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