An a Plantar Pressure–based Tongue-placed Lectrotactile Biofeedback Improve Postural Ontrol under Altered Vestibular and Neck Roprioceptive Conditions?

bstract—We investigated the effects of a plantar pressure– ased tongue-placed electrotactile biofeedback on postural ontrol during quiet standing under normal and altered vesibular and neck proprioceptive conditions. To achieve this oal, 14 young healthy adults were asked to stand upright as mmobile as possible with their eyes closed in two Neutral nd Extended head postures and two conditions of Noiofeedback and Biofeedback. The underlying principle of the iofeedback consisted of providing supplementary informaion related to foot sole pressure distribution through a wireess embedded tongue-placed tactile output device. Center of oot pressure (CoP) displacements were recorded using a lantar pressure data acquisition system. Results showed hat (1) the Extended head posture yielded increased CoP isplacements relative to the Neutral head posture in the o-biofeedback condition, with a greater effect along the nteroposterior than mediolateral axis, whereas (2) no signifcant difference between the two Neutral and Extended head ostures was observed in the Biofeedback condition. The resent findings suggested that the availability of the plantar ressure–based tongue-placed electrotactile biofeedback alowed the subjects to suppress the destabilizing effect inuced by the disruption of vestibular and neck propriocepive inputs associated with the head extended posture. These esults are discussed according to the sensory re-weighting ypothesis, whereby the CNS would dynamically and selecively adjust the relative contributions of sensory inputs (i.e. he sensory weights) to maintain upright stance depending n the sensory contexts and the neuromuscular constraints cting on the subject. © 2008 IBRO. Published by Elsevier td. All rights reserved.