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Electro-tactile stimulation of the posterior neck induces body anteropulsion during upright stance.
Exp Brain Res. 2018 05; 236(5):1471-1478.EB

Abstract

Sensory information conveyed along afferent fibers from muscle and joint proprioceptors play an important role in the control of posture and gait in humans. In particular, proprioceptive information from the neck is fundamental in supplying the central nervous system with information about the orientation and movement of the head relative to the rest of the body. The previous studies have confirmed that proprioceptive afferences originating from the neck region, evoked via muscle vibration, lead to strong body-orienting effects during static conditions (e.g., leaning of the body forwards or backwards, depending on location of vibration). However, it is not yet certain in humans, whether the somatosensory receptors located in the deep skin (cutaneous mechanoreceptors) have a substantive contribution to postural control, as vibratory stimulation encompasses the receptive field of all the somatosensory receptors from the skin to the muscles. The aim of this study was to investigate the postural effect of cutaneous mechanoreceptor afferences using electro-tactile stimulation applied to the neck. Ten healthy volunteers (8M, 2F) were evaluated. The average position of their centre of foot pressure (CoP) was acquired before, during, and after a subtle electro-tactile stimulation over their posterior neck (mean ± SD = 5.1 ± 2.3 mA at 100 Hz-140% of the perception threshold) during upright stance with their eyes closed. The electro-tactile stimulation led to a body-orienting effect with the subjects consistently leaning forward. An average shift of the CoP of 12.1 ± 11.9 mm (mean ± SD) was reported, which significantly (p < 0.05) differed from its average position under a control condition (no stimulation). These results indicate that cutaneous mechanoreceptive inflow from the neck is integrated to control stance. The findings are relevant for the exploitation of electro-tactile stimulation for rehabilitation interventions where induced anteropulsion of the body is desired.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

De Nunzio AM
Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. A.M.DeNunzio@bham.ac.uk.
Yavuz US
Institute of Applied Mechanics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
Martinez-Valdes E
Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Farina D
Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, Royal School of Mines, London, UK.
Falla D
Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

MeSH

AdultElectric StimulationFemaleHumansMaleNeckPhysical StimulationPostural BalancePostureProprioceptionTouchYoung Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

29549403

Citation

De Nunzio, A M., et al. "Electro-tactile Stimulation of the Posterior Neck Induces Body Anteropulsion During Upright Stance." Experimental Brain Research, vol. 236, no. 5, 2018, pp. 1471-1478.
De Nunzio AM, Yavuz US, Martinez-Valdes E, et al. Electro-tactile stimulation of the posterior neck induces body anteropulsion during upright stance. Exp Brain Res. 2018;236(5):1471-1478.
De Nunzio, A. M., Yavuz, U. S., Martinez-Valdes, E., Farina, D., & Falla, D. (2018). Electro-tactile stimulation of the posterior neck induces body anteropulsion during upright stance. Experimental Brain Research, 236(5), 1471-1478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-018-5229-z
De Nunzio AM, et al. Electro-tactile Stimulation of the Posterior Neck Induces Body Anteropulsion During Upright Stance. Exp Brain Res. 2018;236(5):1471-1478. PubMed PMID: 29549403.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Electro-tactile stimulation of the posterior neck induces body anteropulsion during upright stance. AU - De Nunzio,A M, AU - Yavuz,U S, AU - Martinez-Valdes,E, AU - Farina,D, AU - Falla,D, Y1 - 2018/03/16/ PY - 2017/12/19/received PY - 2018/03/06/accepted PY - 2018/3/20/pubmed PY - 2019/2/12/medline PY - 2018/3/18/entrez KW - Cutaneous mechanoreceptor afferences integration KW - Electro-tactile stimulation KW - Postural control KW - Whole-body postural orientation SP - 1471 EP - 1478 JF - Experimental brain research JO - Exp Brain Res VL - 236 IS - 5 N2 - Sensory information conveyed along afferent fibers from muscle and joint proprioceptors play an important role in the control of posture and gait in humans. In particular, proprioceptive information from the neck is fundamental in supplying the central nervous system with information about the orientation and movement of the head relative to the rest of the body. The previous studies have confirmed that proprioceptive afferences originating from the neck region, evoked via muscle vibration, lead to strong body-orienting effects during static conditions (e.g., leaning of the body forwards or backwards, depending on location of vibration). However, it is not yet certain in humans, whether the somatosensory receptors located in the deep skin (cutaneous mechanoreceptors) have a substantive contribution to postural control, as vibratory stimulation encompasses the receptive field of all the somatosensory receptors from the skin to the muscles. The aim of this study was to investigate the postural effect of cutaneous mechanoreceptor afferences using electro-tactile stimulation applied to the neck. Ten healthy volunteers (8M, 2F) were evaluated. The average position of their centre of foot pressure (CoP) was acquired before, during, and after a subtle electro-tactile stimulation over their posterior neck (mean ± SD = 5.1 ± 2.3 mA at 100 Hz-140% of the perception threshold) during upright stance with their eyes closed. The electro-tactile stimulation led to a body-orienting effect with the subjects consistently leaning forward. An average shift of the CoP of 12.1 ± 11.9 mm (mean ± SD) was reported, which significantly (p < 0.05) differed from its average position under a control condition (no stimulation). These results indicate that cutaneous mechanoreceptive inflow from the neck is integrated to control stance. The findings are relevant for the exploitation of electro-tactile stimulation for rehabilitation interventions where induced anteropulsion of the body is desired. SN - 1432-1106 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/29549403/Electro_tactile_stimulation_of_the_posterior_neck_induces_body_anteropulsion_during_upright_stance_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -