Abstract
Many types of sensory information are known to contribute to the human balance control process but little is known about how the different sensory channels interact. Here we consider the postural response to a perturbation delivered to the vestibular channel using galvanic vestibular stimulation. We show that the response is modified by the absence of information in the other sensory channels. Removal of somatosensory information leads to a massive increase in response size. Similarly, removal of visual information augments the response. Furthermore, the response size is graded according to the amount of visual information available. These effects occur through two processes. One that influences the developing response through feedback mechanisms and another that influences the initial response selection through gain changes. The latter is described as a competitive process that can be likened to a proportional representation voting system.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Britton, T. C., Day, B. L., Brown, P., Rothwell, J. C., Thompson, P. D., and Marsden, C. D., 1993, Postural electromyographic responses in the arm and leg following galvanic vestibular stimulation in manExperimental Brain Research94, 143–151.
Bronstein, A. M., and Buckwell, D., 1997, Automatic control of postural sway by visual motion parallaxExperimental Brain Research113, 243–248.
Coates, A. C., 1973, Effect of varying stimulus parameters on the galvanic body-sway responseAnnals of Otology Rhinology and Laryngology82, 96–102.
Cole, J., 1995Pride and a daily marathonThe MIT Press, Boston, Mass.
Cole, J. D., and Sedgwick, E. M., 1992, The perceptions of force and of movement in a man without large myelinated sensory afferents below the neckJournal of Physiology449, 503–515.
Coupon, J. H., Precht, W., and Sirkin, D. W., 1987, Vestibular nerve and nuclei unit responses and eye movement responses to repetitive galvanic stimulation of the labyrinth in the ratExperimental Brain Research66, 41–48.
Day, B. L., S¨¦verac Cauquil, A., Bartolomei, L., Pastor, M. A., and Lyon, I. N., 1997, Human body-segment tilts induced by galvanic stimulation: a vestibularly driven balance protection mechanismJournal of Physiology500, 661–672.
Eklund, G., 1972, General features of vibration-induced effects on balanceUpsala Journal of Medical Science 77112–124.
Fitzpatrick, R., Burke, D., and Gandevia, S. C., 1994, Task-dependent reflex responses and movement illusions evoked by galvanic vestibular stimulation in standing humansJournal of Physiology478, 363–372.
Goldberg, J. M., Smith, C. E., and Femandez, C., 1984, Relation between discharge regularity and responses to externally applied galvanic currents in vestibular nerve afferents of the squirrel monkeyJournal of Neurophysiology51, 1236–1256.
Hiyashi, R., Miyake, A., Jijiwa, H., and Watanabe, S., 1981, Postural readjustment to body sway induced by vibration inman Experimental Brain Research43, 217–225.
Hlavacka, F., Krizkova, M., and Horak, F. B., 1995, Modification of human postural response to leg muscle vibration by electrical vestibular stimulationNeuroscience Letters189, 9–12.
Kavounoudias, A., Roll, R., and Roll, J.-P., 1998, The plantar sole is a ‘dynamometric map’ for human balance controlNeuroreport9, 3247–3252.
Kavounoudias, A., Roll, R., and Roll, J.-P., 2001, Foot sole and ankle muscle inputs contribute jointly to human erect posture regulationJournal of Physiology532, 869–878.
Lestienne, F., Soechting, J. F., and Berthoz, A., 1977, Postural readjustments induced by linear motion of visual scenesExperimental Brain Research28, 363–384.
Lowenstein, o., 1955, The effect of galvanic polarization on the impulse discharge from sense endings in the isolated labyrinth of the thornback ray (raja clavata)Journal of Physiology127, 104–117.
Lund, S., and Broberg, C., 1983, Effects of different head positions on postural sway in man induced by a reproducible vestibular en-or signalActa Physiologica Scandinavica 117307–309.
Nashner, L. M., and Wolfson, P., 1974, Influence of head position and proprioceptive cues on short latency postural reflexes evoked by galvanic stimulation of the human labyrinthBrain Research67, 255–268.
Njiokiktjien, C., and Folkerts, J. F., 1971, Displacement of the body’s centre of gravity at galvanic stimulation of the labyrinthConfinia Neurologica 3346–54.
Pastor, M. A., Day, B. L., and Marsden, C. D., 1993, Vestibular induced postural responses in Parkinson’s diseaseBrain116, 1177–1190.
Smetanin, B. N., Popov, K. E., and Shlykov, V. Yu., 1990, Changes in vestibular postural response determined by information content of visual feedbackNeirofiziologiya22, 80–87.
Sterman, A. B., Schumberg, H. H., and Asbury, A. K., 1980, The acute sensory neuropathy syndrome: a distinct clinical entityAnnals of Neurology7, 354–358.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Day, B.L., Guerraz, M., Cole, J. (2002). Sensory Interactions for Human Balance Control Revealed by Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation. In: Gandevia, S.C., Proske, U., Stuart, D.G. (eds) Sensorimotor Control of Movement and Posture. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 508. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0713-0_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0713-0_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5206-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0713-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive