Effect of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation on dynamic posture sway under visual deprivation in patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction

Po-Yin Chen, Ying-Chun Jheng, Chien-Chih Wang, Shih-En Huang, Ting-Hua Yang, Po-Cheng Hsu, Chia-Hua Kuo, Yi-Ying Lin, Wei-Yi Lai, Chung-Lan Kao, Po-Yin Chen, Ying-Chun Jheng, Chien-Chih Wang, Shih-En Huang, Ting-Hua Yang, Po-Cheng Hsu, Chia-Hua Kuo, Yi-Ying Lin, Wei-Yi Lai, Chung-Lan Kao

Abstract

A single-blind study to investigate the effects of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) in straight walking and 2 Hz head yaw walking for healthy and bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) participants in light and dark conditions. The optimal stimulation intensity for each participant was determined by calculating standing stability on a force plate while randomly applying six graded nGVS intensities (0-1000 µA). The chest-pelvic (C/P) ratio and lateral deviation of the center of mass (COM) were measured by motion capture during straight and 2 Hz head yaw walking in light and dark conditions. Participants were blinded to nGVS served randomly and imperceivably. Ten BVH patients and 16 healthy participants completed all trials. In the light condition, the COM lateral deviation significantly decreased only in straight walking (p = 0.037) with nGVS for the BVH. In the dark condition, both healthy (p = 0.026) and BVH (p = 0.017) exhibited decreased lateral deviation during nGVS. The C/P ratio decreased significantly in BVH for 2 Hz head yaw walking with nGVS (p = 0.005) in light conditions. This study demonstrated that nGVS effectively reduced walking deviations, especially in visual deprived condition for the BVH. Applying nGVS with different head rotation frequencies and light exposure levels may accelerate the rehabilitation process for patients with BVH.Clinical Trial Registration This clinical trial was prospectively registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov with the Unique identifier: NCT03554941. Date of registration: (13/06/2018).

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of all the tests with participant’s preparation. Participants wore a motion capture (mocap) suit with plug-in-gait marker setting. A galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) device was fixed on participant’s back firmly. nGVS noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation, CoP center of pressure, and C/P ratio chest–pelvis ratio.
Figure 2
Figure 2
C/P ratio of patients with BVH (A) and healthy participants (B) in the light condition. Only condition 2 showed reduced deviations during noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS). BVH bilateral vestibular hypofunction, C/P ratio chest–pelvis ratio, *p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparisons of stride length (A) and steps variability (B) in patients. Patients showed reduced step length in light condition and steps variability in all conditions during noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS), *p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of walking deviations between healthy participants and patients. This figure shows the change of walking deviations by noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) during walking with 2 Hz head rotation. The results show the change of each healthy participant (left side) and patient (right side).

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Source: PubMed

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