BACKGROUND: 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.
CASE REPORT: 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.
CONCLUSIONS: 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.