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Bilateral Vestibular Loss Leads To Active Destabilization Of Balance During Voluntary Head Turns In The Standing Cat, Paul Stapley, Lena Ting, Chen Kuifu, Dirk Everaert, Jane Macpherson
Bilateral Vestibular Loss Leads To Active Destabilization Of Balance During Voluntary Head Turns In The Standing Cat, Paul Stapley, Lena Ting, Chen Kuifu, Dirk Everaert, Jane Macpherson
Dr Paul J Stapley
The purpose of this study was to determine the source of postural instability in labyrinthectomized cats during lateral head turns. Cats were trained to maintain the head in a forward orientation and then perform a rapid, large-amplitude head turn to left or right in yaw, while standing freely on a force platform. Head turns were biomechanically complex with the primary movement in the yaw plane accompanied by an ipsilateral ear-down roll and nose-down pitch. Cats used a strategy of pushing off by activating extensors of the contralateral forelimb while using all four limbs to produce a rotational moment of force …
Independent Control Of Limb Force Underlies Stability During Voluntary Head Movements In Standing Humans, Paul Stapley, Alicia Hilderley, Julia Leonard
Independent Control Of Limb Force Underlies Stability During Voluntary Head Movements In Standing Humans, Paul Stapley, Alicia Hilderley, Julia Leonard
Dr Paul J Stapley
Postural stability during voluntary head movements is maintained through the integration of vestibular and neck afferent inputs. These inputs combine to accurately estimate trunk position in space, relative to a turning head. In animals, a loss of vestibular information leads to an active destabilization of balance as neck afferent information is interpreted as a movement of the trunk under a stable head (Stapley et al. 2006).
Reflex Changes Associated With Anticipatory Postural Adjustments Preceding Voluntary Arm Movements In Standing Humans, Siddharth Vedula, Paul J. Stapley, Robert E. Kearney
Reflex Changes Associated With Anticipatory Postural Adjustments Preceding Voluntary Arm Movements In Standing Humans, Siddharth Vedula, Paul J. Stapley, Robert E. Kearney
Dr Paul J Stapley
Dynamic changes in human stability, such as those induced by upper body movements, are preceded by anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) in the rest of the body. We measured the excitability of the stretch reflex of the triceps-surae muscle group during APAs associated with unilateral right arm raises in standing humans. Our results demonstrate that reflex excitability and underlying muscle activity are linked during the APA period, but that they differ in their relative timing. This supports the idea that reflexes are controlled independently of muscle activation.