Body lateropulsion (BL) is defined as uncontrollable falling to one side without any motor weakness and may be caused due to partial involvement of the lateral medulla oblongata, pons, midbrain, cerebellum, or superior and inferior cerebellar peduncles. In the lateral medulla oblongata, impairment of the vestibular nucleus, lateral vestibulospinal tract, or posterior spinocerebellar tract may induce BL. If the vestibular nucleus is damaged, in addition to BL, nystagmus, vertigo, ocular tilt reaction, and ocular lateropulsion is also observed. One hypothesis suggests that involvement of the posterior spinocerebellar tract may cause BL with hemiataxia, while damage to the posterior spinocerebellar tract may induce BL without hemiataxia. However, this hypothesis does not apply to all cases of BL secondary to a lateral medullary lesion. In the pons, involvement of the ascending graviceptive pathway (GP) may cause BL. However, the precise location of the GP is yet to be ascertained. Based on previous reports, it is speculated that GP from the vestibular nuclei to the interstitial nucleus of Cajal may run into the pontine tegmentum and cross the midline into the caudal pons, just above the level of the vestibular nuclei. In the caudal and middle pons, GP may be located from the dorsal region to the medial lemniscus. Further, in the rostral pons, GP may run between the medial longitudinal fasciculus and ventral trigemino-thalamic tract. In the midbrain, involvement of the red nucleus, ascending vestibulothalamic pathway, cerebellothalamic pathway, or GP may cause BL. In the cerebellum, impairment of the vermis may often induce BL. It is speculated that unilateral involvement of the nodulus may cause BL to the contralateral side, while unilateral damage to the culmen may induce BL to the ipsilateral side without vertigo. Notably, there is only one reported case of isolated BL secondary to localized demyelinated lesions in the superior cerebellar peduncle and inferior cerebellar peduncle.
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