The problem of how the nervous system fuses sensory information from multiple modalities for upright stance control remains largely unsolved. It is well established that the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory modalities provide position and rate (e.g., velocity, acceleration) information for estimation of body dynamics. However, it is unknown whether any particular property dominates when mu...

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of electrotactile feedback on postural control performance during binaural galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS). Postural equilibrium was measured with a computerized hydraulic platform in 10 healthy adults (6M, 4F, 24-65 y). Feedback of anterior-posterior (AP) and mediallateral (ML) body sway was derived from a 2-axis linear accelerometer ...

Postural sway is considered to have two fundamental stochastic components, a slow non-oscillatory component and a faster damped-oscillatory component. The slow component has been shown to account for the majority of sway variance during quiet stance. Postural control is generally viewed as a feedback loop in which sway is detected by sensory systems and appropriate motor commands are generated ...

INTRODUCTION There is evidence that increased ambient pressure causes an increase in postural sway. This article documents postural sway at pressures not previously studied and discusses possible mechanisms. METHODS Eight subjects participated in a dry chamber dive to 240 msw (2.5 MPa) saturation pressure. Two subjects were excluded due to unilateral caloric weakness before the dive. Postural...

Postural sway is considered to have two fundamental stochastic components, a slow nonoscillatory component and a faster damped-oscillatory component. The slow component has been shown to account for the majority of sway variance during quiet stance. Postural control is generally viewed as a feedback loop in which sway is detected by sensory systems and appropriate motor commands are generated t...

To maintain a stable, upright posture, the central nervous system (CNS) must integrate sensory information from multiple sources and subsequently generate corrective torque about the ankle joint. Although proprioceptive information from the muscles that cross this joint has been shown to be vital in this process, the specific source of this information remains questionable. Recent research has ...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to examine: 1) Swaymeter concurrent validity in discriminating between young and older adult populations; 2) Swaymeter convergent validity against a forceplate system; and 3) the immediate test-retest repeatability of postural sway measures obtained from the Swaymeter. METHODS Twenty-nine older adults aged 71 to 83 years and 11 young adults aged 22 to 47 years had ...

We examined a precision aiming task in which a handheld laser pointer was controlled by the postural system. The task was performed in two orientations of the body's coronal plane to the target. In the parallel orientation medio-lateral (ML) sway had to be minimized, in the perpendicular orientation antero-posterior (AP) sway had to be minimized. In the parallel orientation ML sway decreased an...

BACKGROUND Postural sway can be assessed clinically using the Romberg test, or quantified using dynamic posturography. We assessed the potential use of a novel iPhone application as a method of quantifying sway. METHODS Fifty healthy volunteers performed the Romberg and tandem Romberg tests on a hard floor and on foam in soundproofed and normal clinic rooms. Postural sway was recorded using t...

The study investigated the effects of using a lower body prototype exoskeleton (EXO) on static limits of stability and postural sway. Measurements were taken with participants, 10 US Army enlisted men, standing on a force platform. The men were tested with and without the EXO (15 kg) while carrying military loads of 20, 40 and 55 kg. Body lean to the left and right was significantly less and po...