Dependence of visual stabilization of postural sway on the cortical magnification factor of restricted visual fields

Monocular visual stabilization of fore-aft and lateral body sway was tested posturographically in normal subjects (wearing visual field blinds) as a function of visual field size and location of the visual field on the central or peripheral retina. Body sway applied to a force- measuring platform is less with central (foveal) vision when central and peripheral visual fields have the same area. If, however, the peripheral field size is corrected by the cortical magnification factor of the retina in the primary cortex, body sway is stabilized by the peripheral retina to the same extent. Thus, there is no functional specialization of central and peripheral retina with respect to balance control. Visual stabilization of upright stance is a function of field size and cortical representation of the retina. The central and the peripheral retina have different thresholds to detect motion; this was surprisingly not reflected in measurements of normal fore-aft and lateral body sway.