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Updated: May 29, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
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Exploratory behavior during stance persists with visual feedback.

C D Murnaghan1, B C Horslen, J T Inglis

  • 1School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Neuroscience
|August 27, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Postural sway, or body movement, may be an active exploration for sensory information, not a sign of balance problems. This study confirms that increased sway occurs when body movement is stabilized, even with sensory feedback.

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Human Motor Control
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Postural sway, measured by center of pressure (COP) displacements, has been theorized to be an exploratory mechanism for sensory information acquisition.
  • Previous studies suggested that external stabilization of the center of mass (COM) increases COP displacements, supporting the exploratory theory.
  • Potential confounding factors like sensory illusions or motor drift needed to be ruled out to validate the exploratory role of postural sway.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To further investigate the theory that postural sway is an exploratory process for gathering sensory data.
  • To eliminate confounding variables such as sensory illusions and motor drift in the observed relationship between COM stabilization and COP displacement.
  • To assess the impact of real-time visual feedback (COM or COP) on postural sway during COM stabilization.

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Last Updated: May 29, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
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Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Visualization Method for Proprioceptive Drift on a 2D Plane Using Support Vector Machine
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Visualization Method for Proprioceptive Drift on a 2D Plane Using Support Vector Machine

Published on: October 27, 2016

Movement Retraining using Real-time Feedback of Performance
08:16

Movement Retraining using Real-time Feedback of Performance

Published on: January 17, 2013

Main Methods:

  • Participants stood in an apparatus that stabilized their center of mass (COM) without their awareness.
  • Real-time visual feedback of either COM or COP position was provided to participants during trials.
  • COP displacements were measured under conditions of COM stabilization with and without visual feedback.

Main Results:

  • Consistent with prior findings, COP displacements increased when COM movements were externally stabilized.
  • These increases in COP displacement persisted even when participants received visual feedback suggesting COM stabilization (COM feedback).
  • Awareness of COP position (COP feedback) did not reduce the observed increase in COP displacement during COM stabilization, ruling out sensory illusions or motor drift.

Conclusions:

  • The findings provide robust support for the hypothesis that postural sway is an exploratory behavior.
  • The results indicate that increased sway is not solely indicative of a failing balance control system, challenging traditional clinical assumptions.
  • A re-evaluation of current clinical practices for balance deficits in aging or diseased populations may be necessary if sway is fundamentally exploratory.