Vestibular impairments and visuo-spatial dysfunction : Comparison of subjective and objective cognitive assessment in patients with bilateral vestibular loss.

Studies that have investigated cognitive and emotional problems in patients with bilateral vestibular loss have typically used questionnaires, with these showing significant increased complaints compared to control participants (Smith et al., 2010). However, currently, no research has explored the specific link between these subjective complaints and objective cognitive assessments. In the present study, we compared patient’s subjective responses to questionnaires of Dizziness Handicap Inventory (Jacobson & Newman, 1990), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983), and Neuropsychological Vertigo Inventory (Lacroix et al. 2016) to an objective neuropsychological assessment battery. We tested 13 patients with bilateral vestibular loss and 13 age and sex matched controls on the same assessments. Data analyses were performed using between groups ANOVA, with various independent variables associated with the different measures. The results showed a clear difference between groups for the subjective measures, replicating previous research, and showing that vestibular patients present with more subjective cognitive complaints than matched controls. However, interestingly, results on the objective neuropsychological measures failed to show statistically significant effects. These preliminary results suggest that even if patients believe that they have reduced cognition caused by their vestibular deficits, it remains challenging to demonstrate the effects using simple (standard) objective cognitive measures. We discuss the mismatch in results in terms of cognitive specificity and complexity. We also propose that the objective measure may more likely show effects if combined with a dual task, adding strain to cognitive resources