Influence of Somatosensory Input on Body Balance

Abstract

　Sensory inputs used by the central nervous system to generate commands for postural control mainly come from three sources: the vestibular system, the somatosensory system, and the visual system. Spatial orientation, or the ability to recognize one's own position, direction, and posture in space accurately, is formed based on information obtained from the above three sources combined with auditory and other information. In postural control, the somatosensory system provides the central nervous system with information about the position and motion of the body with respect to the support surface. Foam posturography is a clinical application of the phenomenon in which a decrease in somatosensory input exacerbates postural sway. The lower limb somatosensory input is disturbed by standing on foam rubber. Foam posturography can thus be used to suggest a diagnosis of vestibulopathy and to assess the dependence of postural control on somatosensory input. The dependence of postural control on somatosensory input in patients with persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) remains controversial, and further research on changes in the weighting of various sensory inputs and their mechanisms in PPPD are expected.