Vertigo corresponds to a disturbance of perception and is associated with disruption of gaze stabilization, of posture control and of the autonomic nervous system. As a loss of orientation in space, it is mostly characterized by neurovegetative signs and unpleasant feelings as nausea, sweating, blood pressure swings, anxiety, dysequilibrium of the sensory systems of reference: eye, balance, and somatosensory perception in the space of reference. It is typically worsened when the head is moved. The most common diseases that result in vertigo are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Ménière's disease, and labyrinthitis. Less common causes include stroke, brain tumors, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and migraine.

W.H.Zangemeister is retired professor at Hamburg University. He has a private practice for balance disorders, vertigo and dizziness, and neurological vision disorders in Hamburg. The aim of his continual research work has been to elucidate the neuronal processes involved in vertigo and dizziness, visual perception and pictorial imagination. His work has focussed on the vestibular and visual system, visual perception and neurobiological foundations of art and neuro-aesthetics.