Research advances in the mechanism of vestibular compensation and treatment
Unlike other sensory systems,since the vestibular system maintains the tension balance of the en-tire system in a"push-pull"mode,local dysfunction in the system will cause the balance of the entire system to collapse.Unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction will cause severe vestibular symptoms,but it can recover spontaneously within a few days to several weeks.This phenomenon is called"vestibular compensation"(VC).Since the peripheral vestibular impact in most cases is irreversible,it is widely believed that the central mechanism plays a key role in the vestibular compensation process.Static symptom is fully compensated within a few weeks,which is in parallel with the restored balance in the resting discharge of the vestibular nucleus on both sides;the incomplete compensation of dynamic deficits takes longer and is achieved mainly through the mechanism of sensory substitution and behavioral substitution.Here we briefly reviewed the mechanism of vestibular compensation and treatment in order to provide an insight into further study and clinical treatment strategies.