Vertical stance in ‘no-hat’ vs. ‘in-a-hat’ conditions in subjects with bilateral vestibular hypofunction: Probable inference of the egocentric vertical
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2687-1270-2024-5-2-177-185Keywords:
bilateral vestibular hypofunction, stabilometry, body balance, headwear, egocentric reference, Romberg’s testAbstract
During a clinical otoneurological examination, a 66-year-old male subject (S1) with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) reported that he could walk confident and drive his car only while wearing his ‘favorite’ hat. To obtain evidence in support of his claim, we conducted a stabilometric analysis on the subject S1, a group of other BVH patients (n = 9), and a group of healthy young subjects (n = 23, aged 20–21, HY) under four standing conditions: (1) eyes open on a solid surface (EOS), (2) eyes closed on a solid surface (ECS), (3) eyes open on foam rubber (EOF), and (4) eyes closed on foam rubber (ECF). The subjects were also tested in two headwear conditions: (1) ‘in-a-hat’ and (2) ‘no-hat’. Our findings revealed that under challenging conditions (EOF, ECF), the length and ellipse area of the center of pressure (CoP) trajectory were significantly reduced when the subject wore a hat. This effect was not observed under simpler conditions (EOS, ECS). In the ‘in-a-hat’ condition, both BVH and HY subjects exhibited shorter CoP trajectory lengths in EOF and ECF conditions (p < 0.05). Additionally, the CoP ellipse area decreased in the BVH group. These results suggest that the phenomenon of improved stance with a hat may be linked to the emergence of an egocentric (somatosensory) vertical reference axis between the head and feet.
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