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SUMMARY:Manipulation of posture by cutaneous stimulation or When the skin 
 sings the body dances
DTSTART:20130307T143000
DTSTAMP:20260528T030928Z
UID:20abef501ca7dd23dcc97c3f718803ab9cdb3d8b66eb25c710b56b95
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Bernard Martin\, University of Michigan\nCutaneous infor
 mation from joint areas has been attributed proprioceptive properties simi
 lar to those of muscle spindles. We attempted to determine whether torso c
 utaneous information contributes to upper body spatial representation by m
 anipulation of torso tactile information via mechanical vibrations applied
  to the skin at locations distributed around the torso at he L4/l5 level w
 hile subjects maintained an upright posture with the eyes closed. Vibratio
 n was applied at 1) single locations 2) to two homonymous or heteronymous 
 locations [co-vibration]\, or 3) to all locations simultaneously. Single v
 ibrations induce an inclination of the torso in the direction of the vibra
 tion\, with only an exception for vibrations applied in the coronal plane.
  The kinematic analysis of the body segments indicated that co-vibration a
 pplied to the skin over the internal oblique muscles induced shifts of bot
 h the head and torso in the anterior direction (torso flexion) while the h
 ips shifted in the posterior direction (ankle plantar flexion). Conversely
 \, co-vibration applied to the skin over the erector spinae muscles produc
 ed opposite effects. However\, co-vibration applied to the skin over the l
 eft internal oblique and left erector spinae\, the right internal oblique 
 and right erector spinae\, or at all locations simultaneously did not indu
 ce any significant postural changes. In addition\, the center of pressure 
 position as measured by a force plate remained unaffected by any of the vi
 bration conditions tested. These results were independent of stance and su
 ggest an integrated and coordinated reorganization of posture in response 
 to vibration-induced changes in cutaneous information. In addition\, combi
 nations of vibrotactile stimuli over multiple locations present summation 
 properties when compared to individual responses. These results also show 
 that cutaneous information contribute to the internal representation of th
 e body in space and may be used to inform the design of rehabilitation/tra
 ining devices based on tactile stimulation.
LOCATION:ME B1 B10
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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