Manipulation of Body Sway Interpretation through Kinesthetic Illusion Induced by Ankles Vibration

Abstract

Numerous studies have explored the body tilt and sway elicited by vibratory stimuli, which are thought to be related to kinesthetic illusions. However, prior studies have not thoroughly explored the conditions that change the interpretation of self and environmental factors. In this study, subjective body sway was induced through alternating vibrations that were applied to the antagonist ankle muscles as the switching frequency of the vibrations was changed. Results indicated that an illusion induced by a low switching frequency tended to be interpreted as self-sway, while a high switching frequency led to the interpretation of environmental sway, which suggests that when individuals receive sensory information that cannot be realized by their common movements, they interpret it as environmental sway through the process of elimination.