Auditory biofeedback substitutes for loss of sensory information in maintaining stance.
Journal article, 2007
The importance of sensory feedback for postural control in stance is evident from the balance improvements occurring when sensory information from the vestibular, somatosensory, and visual systems is available. However, the extent to which also audio-biofeedback (ABF) information can improve balance has not been determined. It is also unknown why additional artificial sensory feedback is more effective for some subjects than others and in some environmental contexts than others. The aim of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of an ABF system to reduce postural sway in stance in healthy control subjects and in subjects with bilateral vestibular loss, under conditions of reduced vestibular, visual, and somatosensory inputs. This ABF system used a threshold region and non-linear scaling parameters customized for each individual, to provide subjects with pitch and volume coding of their body sway. ABF had the largest effect on reducing the body sway of the subjects with bilateral vestibular loss when the environment provided limited visual and somatosensory information; it had the smallest effect on reducing the sway of subjects with bilateral vestibular loss, when the environment provided full somatosensory information. The extent that all subjects substituted ABF information for their loss of sensory information was related to the extent that each subject was visually dependent or somatosensory-dependent for their postural control. Comparison of postural sway under a variety of sensory conditions suggests that patients with profound bilateral loss of vestibular function show larger than normal information redundancy among the remaining senses and ABF of trunk sway. The results support the hypothesis that the nervous system uses augmented sensory information differently depending both on the environment and on individual proclivities to rely on vestibular, somatosensory or visual information to control sway.
Somatosensory Disorders
Male
Feedback
Cues
physiology
Recovery of Function
Auditory Perception
physiology
Adaptation
Low
Aged
physiology
Postural Balance
physiology
Middle Aged
physiopathology
Female
physiopathology
physiology
Vestibular Diseases
physiopathology
Space Perception
Physiological
Sensory Deprivation
Humans
Vision
physiology
Adult
physiology
Author
Marco Dozza
Chalmers, Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers (SAFER)
Chalmers, Applied Mechanics, Vehicle Safety
Fay B Horak
Lorenzo Chiari
Experimental Brain Research
0014-4819 (ISSN) 1432-1106 (eISSN)
Vol. 178 1 37-48Subject Categories
Medical Engineering
Other Medical and Health Sciences
Other Natural Sciences
DOI
10.1007/s00221-006-0709-y
PubMed
17021893