The Vestibular Receptors The vestibular subsystem derives from microscopic hairs embedded within the semicircular canals of the inner ear. There are two of these canals positioned at right angles to each other. When we move (accelerate and decelerate in any direction), fluid in these canals “sloshes” over the hairs, bending them. Each hair is connected to a receptor, and these receptors then send afferent impulses to the brain stem. Information from this sense lets us know our position with respect both to gravity and to any change in velocity (i.e., acceleration and deceleration).
