Abstract
In humans, postural control is naturally unstable and is considered to be a complex motor skill derived from the interaction of multiple sensorimotor processes to maintain postural orientation. This is a case study based results from a previous research performed on a large cohort [1]. From a technological point of view, the aim is to characterize the cortical responses associated with abrupt balance perturbations (adaptation) and changes in cortical activity during prolonged postural control (habituation).. Also, to compare the cortical activity with the mechanical body sway performance during a balance task.
Proprioceptive vibratory stimulation on calf muscles at 85 Hz was performed to evoke postural perturbation in a closed-eye experimental trial. Thirty seconds of quiet stance (baseline) and 225 s of random vibratory stimulation phases were divided into three epochs of 75 s each, with the impulses synchronized to EEG recording, using a 256-channel EEG cap and sampling rate of 1024 Hz. Channels shown to have statistically significant change in absolute power spectra variation were distinguished over six frequency bands (Δ, θ,α, β, low γ, and high γ). Force and torque actuated by the feet were recorded by a force platform and sampled at 50 Hz. A fluctuation index was computed to determine postural performance during the epochs.
Results show a significant correlation between progress in platform performance and changes in cortical activity. The fluctuation indices decrease (indicating improvement in postural performance), and significant increase was found in absolute power values during adaptation phase in the parietal regions particularly in low gamma and thetaband.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Friðriksdóttir, R., Karlsson, G.H., Svansson, H.Á., Barollo, F., Edmunds, K.J., Petersen, H., Gargiulo, P.: Cortical- and kinematic response during adaptation and habituation in human upright posture, using HD-EEG, Reykjavik, Iceland (2019)
Mierau, A., Pester, B., Hülsdünker, K.S.T., Strüder, H., Witte, H.: Cortical correlates of human balance control. Brain Topogr. 30(4), 434–446 (2017)
Morris, M., Iansek, R., Smithson, F., Huxham, F.: Postural instability in Parkinson’s disease: a comparison with and without a concurrent task. Gait Posture 12(3), 205–216 (2000)
Boecker, H., Ceballos-Baumann, A., Bartenstein, P., Weindl, A., Siebner, H.R., Fassbender, T., Munz, F., Schwaiger, M., Conrad, B.: Sensory processing in Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease: investigations with 3D H(2)(15)O-PET. Brain J. Neurol. 122(9), 1651–1665 (1999)
Furman, J.M., Cass, S.P.: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. New Engl. J. Med. 341(21), 1590–1596 (1999)
Hülsdünker, T., Mierau, A., Neeb, C., Kleinöder, H., Strüder, H.: Cortical processes associated with continuous balance control as revealed by EEG spectral power. Neurosci. Lett. 592, 1–5 (2015)
Fransson, P., Magnusson, M., Johansson, R.: Analysis of adaptation in anteroposterior dynamics of human postural control. Gait Posture 1(1), 64–74 (1998)
Jacobs, J.V., Horak, F.B.: Cortical control of postural responses. J. Neural Transm. 114(10), 1339–1349 (2007)
Buderath, P., Gärtner, K., Frings, M., Christiansen, H., Schoch, B., Konczak, J., Gizewski, E.R., Hebebrand, J., Timmann, D.: Postural and gait performance in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Gait Posture 29(2), 249–254 (2009)
Fransson, P.-A.: Analysis of adaptation in human postural control, Head and Neck surgery. PhD Dissertation, Lund University, Sweden, Department of Otorhinolaryngology (2005)
Slobounov, S., Hallett, M., Stanhope, S., Shibasaki, H.: Role of cerebral cortex in human postural control: an EEG study. Clin. neurophysiol. Official J. Int. Fed. Clin. Neurophysiol. 116(2), 315–323 (2005)
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by the Institute for Biomedical and Neural Engineering at the University of Reykjavík, the Department of Anatomy at the University of Iceland, and the Icelandic National Hospital (Landspitali Scientific Fund, PI: Paolo Gargiulo) with additional funding support from the Rannis Icelandic Research Fund (Rannsoknasjodur, PI: Paolo Gargiulo).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Friðriksdóttir, R. et al. (2020). Brain Processing During Postural Control – A Study Case. In: Henriques, J., Neves, N., de Carvalho, P. (eds) XV Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing – MEDICON 2019. MEDICON 2019. IFMBE Proceedings, vol 76. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31635-8_139
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31635-8_139
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-31634-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-31635-8
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)