An Investigation of Sensorimotor Integration Mechanism for up-Right Posture and Balance Control in Neurological and Musculoskeletal Injured Subjects

Project: National Science and Technology CouncilNational Science and Technology Council Academic Grants

Project Details

Abstract

Maintaining upright posture and balance is essential to safety and independence in human daily living contexts. The process of upright posture and balance control requires sensorimotor integration of multiple systems inside an individual. Posture and balance control was traditionally assumed to be automatic and few attention resources were needed. But more recent studies suggested attention resources are required for posture and balance control, especially when the posture and balance challenges are high and when cognitive tasks are concurrent with posture tasks. The cognitive tasks that most often accompany posture tasks during daily living situation are visual/spatial perception tasks and gravity perception tasks. Previous studies suggested that the patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) have not only musculoskeletal deformity but also are impaired of the posture and balance control and might have deficits in visual/spatial perception. Early studies also indicated that the cause of AIS might be due to muscle imbalance and/or abnormality of the higher posture and balance control centers in the brain. Surgical correction is the most common strategy to correct the posture abnormality in AIS patients but it is not clear whether surgery can improve the visual/spatial perception and/or change the higher center control of posture and balance. The purposese of the first part of this studies are to investigate (1) the subjective visual vertical (SVV) and subjective posture vertical (SPV) perceptions in idiopathic scoliosis patients (2) the change of SVV and SPV in AIS patients after surgery (3) the sensorimotor integration mechanism of posture and balance control in IS patients during single vs. dual-tasks conditions (4) the change of sensorimotor integration mechanism of posture and balance control in AIS patients before and after surgery. Posture and balance control deficit is a frequent sequela for patients s/p stroke. Their posture and balance impairment is often aggrevated by spatial neglect. Studies found that stroke patiens with spatial neglect require longer time for functional independence. Pusher syndrome is the most severe posture and balance impairment found in stroke patient. Previous studies showed that it is caused by the injuries in posterolateral thalamus causing the impairment of secondary gravity perception pathway. This brain area should play an important role in posture and balance control. The purposes of the second part of this study are to investigate (1) the difference of SVV and SPV perception in stroke patients with right or left hemisphere stroke (2) the difference of SVV and SPV perception in stroke patients with or without spatial neglect and/or pusher syndrome (3) the sensorimotor integration mechanism of posture and balance control in stroke patients with right or left hemisphere stroke (4) the sensorimotor integration mechanism for posture and balance control in stroke patients with or without spatial neglect and/or pusher syndrome.

Project IDs

Project ID:PC9907-2510
External Project ID:NSC99-2410-H182-036
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date01/08/1031/07/11

Keywords

  • Idiopathic Sclerosis
  • Postural Stability
  • EEG

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