The symptoms of<unk>  vary among patients but are typically a unique combination of ocular abnormalities including nystagmus, poor or absent smooth pursuit (ability of the eyes to follow a moving object), strabismus (misalignment of the eyes), diplopia (double vision), oscillopsia (the sensation that stationary objects in the visual field are oscillating) and abnormal vestibulo-ocular reflex (reflex eye adjustment to stabilize gaze during head movement). Gaze-paretic nystagmus, one of the most common symptoms among patients results in poor gaze-holding due to neuron integrator dysfunction. Rebound nystagmus is also frequently found in conjunction with gaze-paretic nystagmus and is characteristic of cerebellar malfunction. These abnormal eye movements are often the earliest indicators of the disorder and may appear during childhood. The time of full onset of symptoms, including motor abnormalities, ranges from age 30 to age 60. Initially, symptoms present as isolated episodic attacks but occur at increasing frequency over time and may eventually become a permanent condition. In conjunction with eye abnormalities patients also present with periodic attacks of vertigo, tinnitus, and ataxia that are associated with sudden changes in head position. Attacks were seen to vary in duration from a few minutes to months in different individuals and were often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. During a typical attack, patients reported having ataxic gait with a tendency to fall to either side while lacking the ability to walk heel-to-toe. With more severe attacks, patients had to sit down due to extreme unsteadiness. Fine motor abilities, such as writing and buttoning clothes, became impaired during an attack. However, speech remained unaffected. Attacks did not cause a loss of consciousness nor did they disturb mental activity. Once the attack ended, oscillopsia faded and the intensity of nystagmus decreased. Although these attacks are similar to episodic ataxia, patients with<unk>  do not completely lose motor control in arms and legs or experience dysarthria (poor speech articulation), as patients with episodic ataxia do. The disturbances to vestibular function during periodic attacks are the primary distinction between<unk>  and other similar neurological syndromes. These conditions do not consistently cause the symptoms of dizziness and ocular impairment that have been localized to the vestibulocerebellum, leading researchers to characterize<unk>  as a distinct disorder.
Vestibulocerebellar syndrome
Cerebellar stroke syndrome
Lateral pontine syndrome
Occipital horn syndrome
Dejerine–Roussy syndrome
Medial pontine syndrome
Lateral medullary syndrome
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis