The vestibular cortex is a distributed network of multisensory areas that plays a crucial role in balance, posture, and spatial orientation. The core region of the vestibular cortex is the parietoinsular vestibular cortex (PIVC), which is located at the junction between the posterior insula, parietal operculum, and retroinsular region. The PIVC is connected to other vestibular areas, the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices, and the premotor and posterior parietal cortices. It also sends projections to the vestibular nuclei in the brainstem. The PIVC is a multisensory region that integrates vestibular, visual, and somatosensory information to create a representation of head-in-space motion, which is used to control eye movements, posture, and balance. Other regions of the vestibular cortex include the primary somatosensory, posterior parietal, and frontal cortices. The primary somatosensory cortex is involved in processing information about touch and body position. The posterior parietal cortex is involved in integrating vestibular, visual, and somatosensory information to create a representation of spatial orientation. The frontal cortex is involved in controlling posture, and eye movements. The various methods used to stimulate the vestibular receptors in neuroimaging studies include caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS), galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), and auditory vestibular stimulation (AVS). CVS uses warm or cold water or air to stimulate the semicircular canals, GVS uses a weak electrical current to stimulate the vestibular nerve, and AVS uses high-intensity clicks or short tone bursts to stimulate the otolithic receptors.

Citations

• Vestibular Agnosia: Toward a Better Understanding of Its Mechanisms
  Assan Mary Cedras, Jonathan Dion, Arnaud Saj, François Champoux, Maxime Maheu
  Audiology Research.2025; 15(1): 15.     CrossRef
• Posture‐Dependent Modulation of Interoceptive Processing in Young Male Participants: A Heartbeat‐Evoked Potential Study
  Mayu Dohata, Naotsugu Kaneko, Ryogo Takahashi, Yuya Suzuki, Kimitaka Nakazawa
  European Journal of Neuroscience.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef

Background
Resistance training for leg muscles is recommended for patients with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS). However, no study has characterized the relationships between orthostatic symptoms, heart rate (HR) increase, and the mass of the lower leg muscle in patients with POTS. We sought to determine the relationships between the mass of the lower leg muscle, HR increase during the head-up tilt (HUT) test, and orthostatic symptoms in patients with POTS.
Methods
We prospectively enrolled 42 patients with POTS who were older than 16 years. The muscle mass was estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis. We used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form to measure self-reported physical activity. All patients were asked to complete the Korean version of the Orthostatic Grading Scale (KOGS).
Results
The HR increased during the HUT test by 38.7±7.88 beats/minutes. Both the HR increase during the HUT test and the total KOGS score were negatively correlated with the total metabolic equivalent of the task. The leg circumference and muscle mass were not correlated with the HR increase during the HUT test or the KOGS score.
Conclusions
The leg circumference and muscle mass were not related to orthostatic symptoms in patients with POTS. Cardiac remodeling or blood volume increase may be responsible for improvement in POTS after physical activity.

Background
This study aimed to determine the characteristics of computed tomography perfusion (CTP) patterns and their utility in predicting antiseizure medication (ASM) resistance in patients with nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE).
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with NCSE at Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital Epilepsy Center between March 2015 and March 2022. CTP patterns were analyzed for those patients. A hyperperfusion pattern (HPP) in CTP was defined as a region of both increased cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume that did not necessarily follow the vascular territories. The primary endpoint was the responses to ASMs according to CTP patterns.
Results
Fourteen (74%) of the 19 included patients met the criteria for definite NCSE, with the remaining 26% showing nonepileptiform activities with fluctuating quasirhythmic delta activities at >0.5 Hz on electroencephalogram. Three of the four patients who had HPPs with thalamic involvement were refractory to ASMs, whereas all eight patients who had HPPs without thalamic involvement were responsive to ASMs (p = 0.018). Although HPPs themselves were not associated with ASM responses, HPPs with thalamic involvement were associated with resistance to ASMs.
Conclusions
HPP with thalamic involvement in CTP might be associated with ASM resistance. Therefore, CTP may be useful for predicting ASM resistance in NCSE patients.

Paramyotonia congenita (PMC) is characterized by nondystrophic myotonia aggravated by exercise and cold exposure. SCN4A mutations manifest as various phenotypes of channelopathy, including PMC, myotonia congenita, and periodic paralysis. SCN4A-related channelopathy is characterized by autosomal dominant inheritance. Parental gonadal mosaicism is suspected in cases of recurrent de novo mutation in an autosomal dominantly inherited disease. We report a case of two Korean brothers presenting with PMC due to same de novo SCN4A point mutation, probably due to parental gonadal mosaicism.

We report a patient diagnosed with a germ-cell tumor presenting with spinal muscular atrophy with lower limb predominance (SMA-LED) caused by a DYNC1H1 genetic variant. His clinical and electrophysiologic phenotype was compatible with SMA-LED. We identified a heterozygous missense variant (c.1793G>T) of DYNC1H1. This report expands the clinical spectrum of DYNC1H1-related disorders, and reinforces the importance of DYNC1H1 in both central and peripheral neuronal functions. We suggest that germ-cell tumors should be considered as a possible phenotype of DYNC1H1-related disorders.

Citations

• Osteosarcoma in an Adolescent With Germline DYNC1H1‐Related Disorder: A Novel Association With Whole Genome and Transcriptome Tumour Analysis
  Cameron J. Grisdale, Rachel V. Silverberg, Bilal M. Marwa, Trevor J. Loback, Alysa A. Poulin, Kaveer K. Chatoorgoon, Saima Alvi, Shahrad R. Rassekh, Rebecca J. Deyell, Paul R. D'Alessandro
  Pediatric Blood & Cancer.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef

Rippling muscle disease (RMD) is caused by dominant mutations of the caveolin-3 gene (CAV3), and presents with overlapping limb-girdle muscle weakness, elevated creatine kinase (hyper- CKemia), RMD, and distal myopathy. We report a patient with a CAV3 mutation who presented with myalgia, exercise-induced muscle stiffness, hyperCKemia, and percussion-induced rapid muscle contraction and muscle mounding. A familial genetic study revealed the same mutation in two family members, with physical examinations showing that both of them had rippling muscles.