In cases of sudden-onset unilateral peripheral vestibular deficit syndromes – such as vestibular neuritis – there is a gradual reduction in vertigo, nystagmus and postural deviations, which continues for a few weeks until they disappear completely. This progression is due to a complex process known as vestibular compensation. However, the improvement observed is not always satisfactory, and a greater or lesser degree of imbalance may persist, sometimes for the rest of the patient’s life.

The vestibular nuclei (VN) and, to a lesser extent, the cerebellum play a fundamental role in vestibular compensation, the pathophysiological mechanisms of which do not differ significantly from those occurring in equivalent lesions in any other part of the central nervous system (CNS), where the processes of functional recovery are known as habituation.