| Vestibular cortex | |
|---|---|
 The insula of the left side, exposed by removing the opercula. (Image is of left side, but there is some evidence that there may be right-sided dominance.) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | Cortex vestibularis |
| NeuroNames | 1390 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
Vestibular cortex refers to a network of cortical regions of the brain that process input from thevestibular system and contribute to perception of self-motion, spatial orientation, and balance.[1]
Unlike primary sensory cortices, the vestibular cortex does not occupy a single, sharply defined anatomical area. Human neuroimaging, lesion, and electrical stimulation studies suggest that vestibular processing is distributed across the posteriorinsular cortex and adjacentparietal operculum, with additional involvement of temporo-parietal regions.[2]
Human vestibular cortex has been localized using several vestibular stimulation paradigms inpositron emission tomography (PET) andfunctional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).[3][4] Direct cortical electrical stimulation in epilepsy patients can also evoke vestibular sensations (e.g. illusions of rotation or translation), providing converging evidence for peri-Sylvian vestibular-responsive regions.[5]
Functional imaging studies suggest hemispheric asymmetry in vestibular cortical processing, with dominance often observed in the non-dominant hemisphere, corresponding to right-hemisphere dominance in most right-handed individuals.[3]
The "temporo-peri-Sylvian vestibular cortex" (TPSVC) has been proposed as an analog to parietoinsular vestibular cortex found in monkeys.[5]