The vestibular receptors of the cristae of the semicircular canals that detect angular accelerations of the head are of two types (type I and type II) with differences in threshold, sensitivity, information content, and regularity of discharge. Their different characteristics are useful for the execution of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and for the perception of self-movement. The direct and indirect components of the VOR enable gaze stability and possess considerable adaptive capacities for the regulation of ocular responses to different functional requirements and for the vestibular compensation process. Vestibular perception allows the reconstruction of head movement and position and shows characteristics of the integrator process similar to that of the VOR but behaves differently in response to sequential rotations at different stimulus intensities. In fact, unlike the VOR it shows a tendency to perceive progressively better rapid rotation than slow rotation. This demonstrates the vestibular system’s specific ability to detect increased velocity during movement. Interestingly, the presence of this peculiar adaptive perceptual mechanism may be responsible for the slower rebalancing process of self-motion perception compared to that of the VOR after unilateral lesions.