Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

The Vestibular System

The Vestibular System

The vestibular system is a set of inner ear structures that provide a sense of balance and spatial orientation. This system is comprised of structures within the labyrinth of the inner ear, including the cochlea and two otolith organs—the utricle and saccule. The labyrinth also contains three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—that are oriented on different planes.

Equilibrium and Balance

Equilibrium and Balance

The inner ear assumes dual functionalities of auditory perception and equilibrium maintenance. The vestibule is the organ responsible for balance. This organ contains mechanoreceptors, specifically hair cells, endowed with stereocilia, which aid in deciphering information regarding the position and motion of our heads. Two intrinsic components, the utricle and saccule, help perceive head position, while the semicircular canals track head movement. Neurological messages initiated in the...

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...

Indirect Motor Pathways

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...

Auditory Perception

Auditory Perception

The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the cochlea, a...

Hierarchy of Motor Control

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Trunk control status in children with neuromuscular disorders and typically developing children: Is there a measurable difference?

Journal of neuromuscular diseases·2026

Same author

Intrinsic ankle stiffness is associated with paradoxical calf muscle movement but not postural sway or age.

Experimental physiology·2024

Same author

Is Intermittent Control the Source of the Non-Linear Oscillatory Component (0.2-2Hz) in Human Balance Control?

IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering·2022

Same author

Idiosyncratic Characteristics of Postural Sway in Normal and Perturbed Standing.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2021

Same author

Individual differences in intrinsic ankle stiffness and their relationship to body sway and ankle torque.

PloS one·2021

Same author

Estimation of absolute states of human skeletal muscle via standard B-mode ultrasound imaging and deep convolutional neural networks.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2020

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Manually controlled human balancing using visual, vestibular and proprioceptive senses involves a common, low

Martin Lakie¹, Ian D Loram

¹Applied Physiology Research Group, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK. m.d.lakie@bham.ac.uk

The Journal of Physiology

|September 9, 2006

Summary

Human balance control involves intermittent neural adjustments, occurring around every 400 ms. This timing appears largely independent of sensory input, suggesting a central motor planning process governs manual balancing.

More Related Videos

A Human-machine-interface Integrating Low-cost Sensors with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Post-stroke Balance Rehabilitation

A Human-machine-interface Integrating Low-cost Sensors with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Post-stroke Balance Rehabilitation

Published on: April 12, 2016

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Published on: August 22, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

A Human-machine-interface Integrating Low-cost Sensors with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Post-stroke Balance Rehabilitation

A Human-machine-interface Integrating Low-cost Sensors with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Post-stroke Balance Rehabilitation

Published on: April 12, 2016

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Published on: August 22, 2025

Area of Science:

Human Motor Control
Neuroscience
Biomechanics

Background:

Manual balancing requires continuous adjustments to maintain stability.
These adjustments are thought to be driven by sensory feedback regarding body or load movement.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if the timing of manual balancing adjustments (bias duration) is influenced by sensory modality (vision, vestibular, proprioception).
To determine if increased sensory information (sensory abundance) affects bias duration.

Main Methods:

Ten subjects manually balanced their own body or an unstable inverted pendulum.
Subjects utilized visual, vestibular, or proprioceptive senses individually and in combination.
The time between corrective hand movements (bias duration) was measured and analyzed.

Main Results:

Bias duration was largely independent of the specific sensory modality used.
Increasing sensory information (using one or two additional senses) led to a small but significant decrease in bias duration.
A threshold effect, where motion must be perceived, accounts for only a minor part of the bias duration.

Conclusions:

The timing of manual balancing adjustments is not primarily determined by sensory input modality or perceptual thresholds.
A common central motor planning process likely underlies the observed bias adjustment timing.
Similar central processes may be involved in controlling upright standing posture.