Which Way is Up? Research Finds Brain Region Associated with Dizziness

Researchers at Johns Hopkins believe they have identified the area of the human brain that plays a role in the subconscious recognition of which way is up and which way is down. The finding, published in the journal Cerebral Cortex,  may lead to explanations of dizziness and spatial disorientation.

“Our brain has this amazing way of knowing where we are in space, whether we are upright or tilted at an angle, even if it is completely dark and we can’t see anything around us,” says Amir Kheradmand, M.D., says the study’s lead investigator. “This study suggests there’s a small area of neural tissue in the parietal cortex substantially involved in this ability, giving us a place to start thinking about how we may be able to treat people with disorienting dizziness.” Click here to read the full story.