MULTIMODAL CONTROL OF ORIENTATION IN SPACE

摘要

The impaired balance of posture accounts for the fall with a large proportion of falls in older people occurring when walking. However, the mechanisms underlying impaired balance during both gait and passive postural state are poorly understood. The objective of the research is to examine the underlying causes of instability and then to eventually create therapeutic interventions that will improve balance and lessen the number of falls related injuries. This paper focuses on developing a laboratory to study the combined influence of motion impact and visual conditions on head stabilization during passive postural jerk impact and simple harmonic movements. Preliminary studies on one healthy subject shows that concordant and discordant visual inputs have more compensatory effect than eyes closed on head stabilization during the jerk impact.