Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation

Vestibular sensation contributes to balance control during standing as well as somatosensation and vision. Previous studies have indicated that noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) activates vestibular function and improves standing balance in many subjects. However, the mechanism for improv...

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Main Authors: Motomichi Sonobe, Tsubasa Mitsutake
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Neurology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1500308/full
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author Motomichi Sonobe
Tsubasa Mitsutake
author_facet Motomichi Sonobe
Tsubasa Mitsutake
author_sort Motomichi Sonobe
collection DOAJ
description Vestibular sensation contributes to balance control during standing as well as somatosensation and vision. Previous studies have indicated that noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) activates vestibular function and improves standing balance in many subjects. However, the mechanism for improving balance control with the addition of nGVS remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the balance control mechanism improved by nGVS using detailed motion data during quiet standing. Thirty-two young healthy subjects performed quiet standing tests for 40 s with their eyes closed under sham and optimal intensity stimulation. Detailed data consisting of the center of mass (COM) displacement and acceleration of the body, head acceleration, and lower and upper body accelerations were obtained from measurements using a force platform and a head inertial sensor based on the equations of motion of rigid body models. In addition, our study discusses the contributions of joint strategies for COM control and head acceleration control. The contributions of the ankle and hip strategies were calculated from the COM accelerations of the lower and upper bodies. The results indicated that the more effective group of nGVS suppressed head acceleration using the ankle strategy in the anteroposterior direction. This implies that acceleration feedback from vestibular function affects the quality of the ankle joint strategy control. The findings of this study could contribute to the evaluation of vestibular sensory weighting during standing and development of intervention methods for vestibular function using nGVS.
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spelling doaj-art-734c7cd4b16d4faeb120179ce8c668702025-08-20T02:26:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952025-04-011610.3389/fneur.2025.15003081500308Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulationMotomichi Sonobe0Tsubasa Mitsutake1Department of Intelligent Mechanical Systems Engineering, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, JapanClinical Research Center, Saga University Hospital, Saga, JapanVestibular sensation contributes to balance control during standing as well as somatosensation and vision. Previous studies have indicated that noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) activates vestibular function and improves standing balance in many subjects. However, the mechanism for improving balance control with the addition of nGVS remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the balance control mechanism improved by nGVS using detailed motion data during quiet standing. Thirty-two young healthy subjects performed quiet standing tests for 40 s with their eyes closed under sham and optimal intensity stimulation. Detailed data consisting of the center of mass (COM) displacement and acceleration of the body, head acceleration, and lower and upper body accelerations were obtained from measurements using a force platform and a head inertial sensor based on the equations of motion of rigid body models. In addition, our study discusses the contributions of joint strategies for COM control and head acceleration control. The contributions of the ankle and hip strategies were calculated from the COM accelerations of the lower and upper bodies. The results indicated that the more effective group of nGVS suppressed head acceleration using the ankle strategy in the anteroposterior direction. This implies that acceleration feedback from vestibular function affects the quality of the ankle joint strategy control. The findings of this study could contribute to the evaluation of vestibular sensory weighting during standing and development of intervention methods for vestibular function using nGVS.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1500308/fullstanding posturenoisy galvanic vestibular stimulationcenter of masshead accelerationjoint strategyforce platform
spellingShingle Motomichi Sonobe
Tsubasa Mitsutake
Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
Frontiers in Neurology
standing posture
noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
center of mass
head acceleration
joint strategy
force platform
title Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
title_full Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
title_fullStr Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
title_full_unstemmed Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
title_short Properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
title_sort properties of standing balance control under noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
topic standing posture
noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation
center of mass
head acceleration
joint strategy
force platform
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1500308/full
work_keys_str_mv AT motomichisonobe propertiesofstandingbalancecontrolundernoisygalvanicvestibularstimulation
AT tsubasamitsutake propertiesofstandingbalancecontrolundernoisygalvanicvestibularstimulation