Title: Can explicit visual feedback of postural sway efface the effects of sensory manipulations

30 Explicit visual feedback on postural sway is often used in balance assessment and training. However, up31 weighting of visual information may mask impairments of other sensory systems. We therefore aimed to 32 determine whether the effects of somatosensory, vestibular and proprioceptive manipulations on 33 mediolateral balance are reduced by explicit visual feedback on mediolateral sway of the body center of 34 mass and by the presence of visual information. We manipulated sensory inputs of the somatosensory 35 system by transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation on the feet soles (TENS), of the vestibular system by 36 galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) and of the proprioceptive system by muscle-tendon vibration (VMS) 37 of hip abductors. The effects of these manipulations on mediolateral sway were compared to a control 38 condition without manipulation under three visual conditions: explicit feedback of sway of the body 39 center of mass (FB), eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC). Mediolateral sway was quantified as the sum 40 of energies in the power spectrum and as the energy at the dominant frequencies in each of the 41 manipulation signals. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to test effects of each of the sensory 42 manipulations, of visual conditions and their interaction. Overall, sensory manipulations increased body 43 sway when compared to the control conditions. Absence of normal visual information had no effect on 44 sway, while explicit feedback reduced sway. Furthermore, interactions of visual information and sensory 45 manipulation were found at specific dominant frequencies for GVS and VMS, with explicit feedback 46 reducing the effects of the manipulations but not effacing these. 47