The role of vestibular cues in postural sway
Autor: | Tania Leeder, Robert J. Peterka, Yulia Valko, Daniel M. Merfeld, Adam D. Goodworth, Faisal Karmali |
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Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male medicine.medical_specialty genetic structures Physiology media_common.quotation_subject Sensory system Audiology 050105 experimental psychology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Feedback Sensory Vertical translation Orientation (geometry) Perception otorhinolaryngologic diseases medicine Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Postural Balance media_common Balance (ability) Vestibular system Proprioception General Neuroscience 05 social sciences Middle Aged Sensory Thresholds Positive relationship Female Vestibule Labyrinth sense organs Cues Psychology 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Research Article |
Zdroj: | J Neurophysiol |
ISSN: | 1522-1598 0022-3077 |
Popis: | Controlling posture requires continuous sensory feedback about body motion and orientation, including from the vestibular organs. Little is known about the role of tilt vs. translation vs. rotation vestibular cues. We examined whether intersubject differences in vestibular function were correlated with intersubject differences in postural control. Vestibular function was assayed using vestibular direction-recognition perceptual thresholds, which determine the smallest motion that can be reliably perceived by a subject seated on a motorized platform in the dark. In study A, we measured thresholds for lateral translation, vertical translation, yaw rotation, and head-centered roll tilts. In study B, we measured thresholds for roll, pitch, and left anterior-right posterior and right anterior-left posterior tilts. Center-of-pressure (CoP) sway was measured in sensory organization tests (study A) and Romberg tests (study B). We found a strong positive relationship between CoP sway and lateral translation thresholds but not CoP sway and other thresholds. This finding suggests that the vestibular encoding of lateral translation may contribute substantially to balance control. Since thresholds assay sensory noise, our results support the hypothesis that vestibular noise contributes to spontaneous postural sway. Specifically, we found that lateral translation thresholds explained more of the variation in postural sway in postural test conditions with altered proprioceptive cues (vs. a solid surface), consistent with postural sway being more dependent on vestibular noise when the vestibular contribution to balance is higher. These results have potential implications for vestibular implants, balance prostheses, and physical therapy exercises. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Vestibular feedback is important for postural control, but little is known about the role of tilt cues vs. translation cues vs. rotation cues. We studied healthy human subjects with no known vestibular pathology or symptoms. Our findings showed that vestibular encoding of lateral translation correlated with medial-lateral postural sway, consistent with lateral translation cues contributing to balance control. This adds support to the hypothesis that vestibular noise contributes to spontaneous postural sway. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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