Human-Human Hand Interactions Aid Balance During Walking by Haptic Communication.

Principles from human-human physical interaction may be necessary to design more intuitive and seamless robotic devices to aid human movement. Previous studies have shown that light touch can aid balance and that haptic communication can improve performance of physical tasks, but the effects of touch between two humans on walking balance has not been previously characterized. This study examines physical interaction between two persons when one person aids another in performing a beam-walking task.

Abnormal center of mass feedback responses during balance: A potential biomarker of falls in Parkinson's disease.

Although Parkinson disease (PD) causes profound balance impairments, we know very little about how PD impacts the sensorimotor networks we rely on for automatically maintaining balance control. In young healthy people and animals, muscles are activated in a precise temporal and spatial organization when the center of body mass (CoM) is unexpectedly moved that is largely automatic and determined by feedback of CoM motion. Here, we show that PD alters the sensitivity of the sensorimotor feedback transformation.

Perception of whole-body motion during balance perturbations is impaired in Parkinson's disease and is associated with balance impairment.

Background: In addition to motor deficits, Parkinson's disease (PD) may cause perceptual impairments. The role of perceptual impairments in sensorimotor function is unclear, and has typically been studied in single-joint motions.

Research Question: We hypothesized that perception of whole-body motion is impaired in PD and contributes to balance impairments.