[Vestibular compensation : basic principles and clinical significance].

The vestibular system has the ability to repair deficits due to functional lesions, which is known as vestibular compensation. For successful function the performance of different receptors is less important than the bilateral balance of neuronal activity between the vestibular nuclei complexes. In this review based on data from animal experiments and clinical observations, the mechanisms of vestibular compensation, its time course and its clinical significance are described. Most of the clinical features can be explained by neuronal operations known from animal experiments. It must be emphasized that vestibular compensation is not a static phenomenon but a fluctuating process which can be influenced by therapeutic procedures. Vestibular compensation for static phenomena can be almost completely carried out, but for dynamic features only incompletely. These factors should be taken in account for diagnosis, therapy and assessment of vestibular disturbances.