Medial temporal activation in mal de debarquement syndrome revealed by standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography

Mal de debarquement (MdD) literally means “sickness of disembarkation”, and refers to the illusion of movement perceived as an after-effect of traveling on a boat, train, or airplane. The pathophysiology of MdD is currently unknown.

A 20-year-old man presented with dizziness and swaying sensation for 3 days after a boat trip. Compared with the follow-up EEG without symptoms, the EEG recorded while having MdD symptoms disclosed a significantly decreased alpha-band current source density at the precentral gyrus of the left frontal lobe and increased beta-2 activity at the parahippocampal gyrus of right mesial temporal region.

Our results provide evidence of deranged cortical activity in MdD. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to document cortical correlates of MdD using an EEG source-localization method.