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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 16, 2025

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Upright Posture: A Singular Condition Stabilizing Sensorimotor Coordination.

Simon Vandergooten^1,2, Laurent Opsomer^1,2, Jean-Louis Thonnard^1,2

¹Mathematical Engineering Department, Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium.

|July 8, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The nervous system uses gravity for sensory alignment. Upright posture prevents hand-path orientation drift when eyes are closed, unlike tilted positions, aiding sensorimotor control.

Keywords:

body tilt gravity motor control targeted arm movements

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Human motor control
Biomechanics

Background:

The nervous system's reliance on gravity for sensory alignment is hypothesized.
Hand-path orientation drift occurs in weightlessness and supine postures but not upright.
Factors influencing drift magnitude and conditions are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate if upright posture, a biomechanical singularity due to gravity, prevents hand-path orientation drift.
Determine the precise conditions and influencing factors for sensory drift.

Main Methods:

Human participants performed point-to-point arm movements with eyes open and closed.
Movements were executed in various body orientations: upright, and tilted backward (45°, 90°, 135°).
Hand-path orientation drift was measured in each condition.

Main Results:

Drift in hand-path orientation was observed in the eyes-closed condition only when the body was tilted.
No drift was detected in the upright, eyes-closed condition.
Drift magnitude and direction were consistent across all tested tilted orientations.

Conclusions:

Upright posture uniquely facilitates sensorimotor transformations.
The upright posture prevents drift in hand-path orientation when visual input is absent.
Gravity's role in sensorimotor control is critical, especially in maintaining orientation without visual cues.