Effect of Eye-Object Distance on Body Sway during Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation

Brain Sciences

Yoshitaka Otani¹  Osamu Aoki²  Shinichiro Morishita³ 

[1] Faculty of Rehabilitation, Kobe International University, Hyogo 6580032, Japan;Faculty of Rehabilitation, Shijonawate Gakuen University, Osaka 5740011, Japan;Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 9503102, Japan;

关键词: galvanic vestibular stimulation;    center of pressure;    vision;    sway;    eye-object distance;   

DOI  :  10.3390/brainsci8110191

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Gazing at objects at a near distance (small eye-object distance) can reduce body sway. However, whether body sway is regulated by movement in the mediolateral or anteroposterior direction remains unclear. Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) can induce body tilting in the mediolateral or anteroposterior direction. This study examined the directionality of the eye-object distance effect, using body-tilting GVS manipulations. Ten healthy subjects (aged 21.1 ± 0.3 years) stood on a force plate covered with a piece of foamed rubber and either closed their eyes or gazed at a marker located 0.5 m, 1.0 m, or 1.5 m in front of them. The GVS polarities were set to evoke rightward, forward, and backward body tilts. To compare the effects of eye-object distance in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions, the root mean square (RMS) of the center of pressure (COP) without GVS was subtracted from the COP RMS during GVS. For swaying in the mediolateral direction, significant visual condition-related differences were found during rightward and forward GVS (p < 0.05). Thus, reductions in mediolateral body sway are more evident for smaller eye-object distances during rightward GVS. It would be appropriate to use body-tilting GVS to detect the directionality of the eye-object distance effect.

【 授权许可】

Unknown