Abstract

Vertigo, one of the most common complaints in medicine, is caused by asymmetric involvement of vestibular system. While peripheral vestibular lesion involves the semicircular canals, the otoliths, and the vestibular nerve, central vestibular lesion affects the vesibular nuclear complex (medial, lateral, superior and inferior), vestibulocerebellum, brain stem, spinal cord and vestibular cortex. Cerebrovascular disorders related to the vertebrobasilar arteries, migraine, multiple sclerosis, tumors of the posterior fossa as well as neurodegenerative disorders are the underlying etiologies of central vesibular lesions. This lectures reviews anatomy of central vestibular structures and imaging findings of some central vestibular disorders, with emphasis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).