Skip to main content
Log in

Postural responses and spatial orientation to neck proprioceptive and vestibular inputs during locomotion in young and older adults

  • Research Note
  • Published:
Experimental Brain Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Both vestibular and neck proprioceptive inputs contribute towards maintaining a walking trajectory. We investigated how aging alters neck proprioceptive and vestibular interaction for preserving equilibrium and spatial orientation during locomotion. Young and healthy elderly were exposed to two sensory manipulations as they walked, eyes closed, to a target located straight ahead: (1) right side dorsal neck muscle vibration (Vib), and (2) Vib + transmastoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation (Vib + GVS). The maximum path deviation, average frontal centre of mass velocity and average trunk roll were evaluated. Trunk yaw rotation was computed at every metre of the path. We observed that directional responses to neck muscle stimulation were very sensitive to the reference frame generated by vestibular information. The attenuation of path deviation in older adults can be attributed to a reduced sensitivity of the neck proprioceptive system rather than the vestibular system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ali AS, Rowen KA, Iles JF (2003) Vestibular actions on back and lower limb muscles during postural tasks in man. J Physiol 546(2):615–624

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson G, Magnusson M (2002) Neck vibration causes short-latency electromyographic activation of lower leg muscles in postural reactions of the standing human. Acta Laryngol 122(3):284–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bent LR, McFadyen BJ, Merkley VF, Kennedy PM, Inglis JT (2000) Magnitude effects of galvanic vestibular stimulation on the trajectory of human gait. Neurosci Lett 279:157–160

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom B (1973) Morphology of the vestibular nerve. Analysis of the calibers of the myelinated vestibular nerve fibers in man at various ages. Acta Otolaryngol 76(5):331–338

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bottini G, Karnath HO, Vallar G, Sterzi R, Frith CD, Frackowiak RS, Paulesu E (2001) Cerebral representations for egocentric space: functional–anatomical evidence from caloric vestibular stimulation and neck vibration. Brain 124:1182–1196

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bove M, Diverio M, Pozzo T, Schieppati M (2001) Neck muscle vibration disrupts steering of locomotion. J Appl Physiol 91(2):581–588

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Britton TC, Day BL, Brown P, Rothwell JC, Thompson PD, Marsden CD (1993) Postural electromyographic responses in the arm and leg following galvanic vestibular stimulation in man. Exp Brain Res 94(1):143–151

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Courtine G, Papaxanthis C, Laroche D, Pozzo T (2003) Gait-dependent integration of neck muscle afferent input. Neuroreport 14(18):2365–2368

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick RC, Wardman DL, Taylor JL (1999) Effects of galvanic vestibular stimulation during human walking. J Physiol 517:931–939

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gdowski GT, McCrea RA (2000) Neck proprioceptive inputs to primate vestibular nucleus neurons. Exp Brain Res 135(4):511–526

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Glasauer S, Amorim MA, Vitte E, Berthoz A (1994) Goal-directed linear locomotion in normal and labyrinthine-defective subjects. Exp Brain Res 98(2):323–335

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hay L, Bard C, Fleury M, Teasdale N (1996) Availability of visual and proprioceptive afferent messages and postural control in elderly adults. Exp Brain Res 108(1):129–139

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hlavacka F, Mergner T, Krizkova M (1996) Control of the body vertical by vestibular and proprioceptive inputs. Brain Res Bull 40(5–6):431–434; discussion 434–435

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollands MA, Sorensen KL, Patla AE (2001) Effects of head immobilization on the coordination and control of head and body reorientation and translation during steering. Exp Brain Res 140(2):223–233

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karnath HO (1994) Subjective body orientation in neglect and the interactive contribution of neck muscle proprioception and vestibular stimulation. Brain 117:1001–1012

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu JX, Eriksson PO, Thornell LE, Pedrosa-Domellof F (2005) Fiber content and myosin heavy chain composition of muscle spindles in aged human biceps brachii. J Histochem Cytochem 53(4):445–454

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez I, Honrubia V, Baloh RW (1997) Aging and the human vestibular nucleus. J Vestib Res 7(1):77–85

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mergner T, Siebold C, Schweigart G, Becker W (1991) Human perception of horizontal trunk and head rotation in space during vestibular and neck stimulation. Exp Brain Res 85(2):389–404

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miwa T, Miwa Y, Kanda K (1995) Dynamic and static sensitivities of muscle spindle primary endings in aged rats to ramped stretch. Neurosci Lett 201(1):179–182

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Popov KE, Lekhel H, Bronstein A, Gresty M (1996) Postural responses to vibration of neck muscles in patients with unilateral vestibular lesions. Neurosci Lett 214:202–204

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Popov KE, Kozhina GV, Smetanin BN, Shikov VY (1999) Postural responses to combined vestibular and hip proprioceptive stimulation in man. Eur J Neurosci 11:3307–3311

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Quoniam C, Hay L, Roll J-P, Harlay F (1995) Age effects on reflex and postural responses to proprioceptive inputs generated by tendon vibration. J Gerontol 50:B155–B165

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schweigart G, Chien RD, Mergner T (2002) Neck proprioception compensates for age-related deterioration of vestibular self-motion perception. Exp Brain Res 147(1):89–97

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strupp M, Arbusow V, Borges Pereira C, Dieterich M, Brandt T (1999) Subjective straight-ahead during neck muscle vibration: effects of ageing. Neuroreport 10(15):3191–3194

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Torvik A, Torp L, Lindboe CF (1986) Atrophy of cerebellar vermis in ageing. A morphometric and histologic study. J Neurol Sci 76:283–294

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Welgampola MS, Colebatch JG (2002) Selective effects of ageing on vestibular-dependent lower limb responses following galvanic stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol 113(4):528–534

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NSERC, Canada and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, Canada. We thank Sebastian Tomescu for his assistance during data collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aftab E. Patla.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Deshpande, N., Patla, A.E. Postural responses and spatial orientation to neck proprioceptive and vestibular inputs during locomotion in young and older adults. Exp Brain Res 167, 468–474 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-0182-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-0182-z

Keywords

Navigation