Relationship between changes in vestibular sensory reweighting and postural control complexity.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Neuroscience
• Human Movement Science

Background:

• Complexity measures are increasingly used in postural control research.
• Previous studies linked balance improvements to complexity, but sensory reweighting's role was unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the relationship between sensory reweighting, achieved through Wii Fit balance training, and changes in postural control complexity.

Main Methods:

• Twenty healthy adults underwent 6 weeks of Wii Fit training.
• The Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and center-of-pressure (CoP) velocity complexity (sample entropy) were assessed pre- and post-training.
• Complexity was analyzed in resultant, anterior-posterior (AP), and medial-lateral directions.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in SOT condition five and vestibular summary scores post-training.
• Postural control complexity showed significant changes in the resultant direction.
• Moderate correlations were found between AP complexity and SOT condition five, and AP complexity and vestibular scores.

Conclusions:

• Wii Fit balance training improved sensory organization, particularly vestibular function.
• Postural control complexity, especially in the resultant direction, changed post-training.
• A moderate relationship between complexity and vestibular input suggests complexity reflects neurosensory organization for maintaining upright stance.