The vestibular system has traditionally been thought of as a balance apparatus; however, accumulating research suggests an association between vestibular function and psychiatric and cognitive symptoms, even when balance is measurably unaffected. There are several brain regions that are implicated in both vestibular pathways and psychiatric disorders. The present review examines the anatomical associations between the vestibular system and various psychiatric disorders. Despite the lack of direct evidence for vestibular pathology in the key psychiatric disorders selected for this review, there is a substantial body of literature implicating the vestibular system in each of the selected psychiatric disorders. The second part of this review provides complimentary evidence showing the link between vestibular dysfunction and vestibular stimulation upon cognitive and psychiatric symptoms. In summary, emerging research suggests the vestibular system can be considered a potential window for exploring brain function beyond that of maintenance of balance, and into areas of cognitive, affective and psychiatric symptomology. Given the paucity of biological and diagnostic markers in psychiatry, novel avenues to explore brain function in psychiatric disorders are of particular interest and warrant further exploration.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 06 October 2025.
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#10,597,261
of 34,541,249 outputs
Outputs from Brain Research
#3,922
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Outputs of similar age
#76,721
of 241,719 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Brain Research
#24
of 69 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,541,249 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 69th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 12,313 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.5. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 67% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 241,719 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 67% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 69 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 65% of its contemporaries.
