this article and any supplementary material should be cited as follows: franke lm, walker wc, cifu...

This article and any supplementary material should be cited as follows: Franke LM, Walker WC, Cifu DX, Ochs AL, Lew HL. Sensorintegrative dysfunction underlying vestibular disorders after traumatic brain injury: A review. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2012;49(7):985–94.http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2011.12.0250

Slideshow ProjectDOI:10.1682/JRRD.2011.12.0250JSP

Sensorintegrative dysfunction underlying vestibular disorders

after traumatic brain injury: A review

Laura M. Franke, PhD; William C. Walker, MD; David X. Cifu, MD; Alfred L. Ochs, PhD; Henry L. Lew, MD, PhD



• Aim – Current methods of assessing vestibular system:

• Describe vestibular deficits after traumatic brain injury. • Differentiate blunt and blast trauma. • Have not examined full range of vestibular functions that depend

on cerebral structures above midbrain.

• Relevance– Vestibular symptoms are persistent and problematic

sequelae of blast exposure. – Evidence suggests that these symptoms often stem from

injury to central nervous system (CNS).



Methods• Reviewed English-language articles with human

participants on PubMed and Google Scholar using following search terms:– mild traumatic brain injury, blast injury, vestibular,

balance, dizziness, vestibule-ocular reflex, posturography, subjective visual vertical, central nervous system, cortex, vestibular cortex, lesions, neuroimaging



Results• Damage to central vestibular circuits can lead to

deficits in vital processes of spatial perception and navigation, dizziness, and disequilibrium.

• May also affect emotional functioning, particularly noradrenergically modulated states of anxiety.

• Perceptual functions can be assessed to determine CNS involvement in vestibular symptoms and provide greater confidence when excluding vestibular dysfunction.



Conclusion

• Ability to detect central vestibular dysfunction will significantly enhance our response to dizziness and balance symptoms that are common source of distress for veterans.

this article and any supplementary material should be cited as follows: franke lm, walker wc, cifu...

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