Psychiatric consequences of vestibular dysfunction

Anxiety and dizziness are co-morbid symptoms in a larger percentage of pati ents than would be expected from chance alone. Such patients have an increa sed handicap and poorer prognosis, In this review, we discuss the interface between Vestibular disorders and anxiety disorders. The two conditions are functionally related via both somatopsychic and psychosomatic mechanisms, and are linked via overlapping neural circuits that include monoaminergic p athways and the parabrachial nucleus network. An alternative conceptualizat ion to the common notion of 'psychogenic' dizziness is presented. Implicati ons for patient management are discussed, Curr Opin Neurol 14:41-46, (C) 20 01 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.