Differential diagnosis of cervical vertigo: vertigo, unsteadiness, or oscillopsia triggered/aggravated by head-neck movements
| Disorder | Assumed mechanism |
| Labyrinthine: | |
| Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo | Canalolithiasis, cupulolithiasis |
| Post-traumatic otolith vertigo | Dislodged otoconia, causing unequal heavy load on macula |
| Perilymph fistula | Floating labyrinth |
| Vestibular nerve: | |
| Unilateral vestibular failure (eg, vestibular neuritis) | Cross coupling effects with acute vestibular tone imbalance |
| Bilateral vestibular failure | Defective vestibulo-ocular reflex |
| Vestibular paroxysmia | Neurovascular cross compression |
| Nerve compression by cerebellopontine angle mass | Conduction block or ectopic discharges |
| Ocular motor: | |
| Extraocular eye muscle or gaze paresis | Inappropriate vestibulo-ocular reflex |
| Central vestibular: | |
| Central positional nystagmus/vertigo | Cerebellar disinhibition |
| Migraine without aura | Motion sickness due to sensory hyperexcitability |
| Migraine with aura (basilar migraine, vestibular migraine) | Spreading depression involving vestibular structures |
| Vestibulocerebellar ataxia | Vestibulocerebellar dysfunction |
| Vascular: | |
| Rotational vertebral artery occlusion | Ischaemic depolarisation |
| Carotid sinus syndrome | Global cerebral ischaemia |
| Intoxication: | |
| Positional alcohol nystagmus/vertigo | Cerebellar and specific gravity differential between cupula and endolymph (buoyancy mechanism) |
| Drugs (eg, antiepileptics) | Cerebellar and ocular motor |