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Head and body sway in response to vertical visual stimulation
Kenji Kobayashi1, Hiroaki Fushiki, Masatsugu Asai
1Department of Otolaryngology, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan.
Acta Oto-Laryngologica
|September 15, 2005
Summary
Vertical visual motion primarily causes head sway, not trunk sway. Center of foot pressure (COP) measurements may underestimate total postural sway during visual stimulation, especially with upward motion.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Human Movement Science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Postural control is crucial for stability.
- Visual stimuli significantly influence postural responses.
- Understanding head and body sway dynamics is key to assessing balance.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate head and body sway in response to vertical visual surround motion.
- Examine the correlation between video-motion analysis of body segments and center of foot pressure (COP) measurements.
Main Methods:
- Assessed postural sway in 10 young female subjects using video-motion analysis and force-plate posturography.
- Induced pitch plane sway using rotating visual patterns in darkness at constant velocity or acceleration.
Main Results:
- Head displacement exceeded other body segments during vertical optokinetic stimulation (OKS).
- Downward OKS induced forward head and body sway, correlating well with COP.
- Upward OKS showed complex postural responses and variable correlations between body segments and COP.
Conclusions:
- Postural responses vary with stimulus direction (vertical visual stimulation).
- Head sway is more prominent than trunk sway during vertical visual motion.
- COP measurements might underestimate postural sway, particularly during upward visual motion.