Citation

Nakajima M. Brain Nerve 2011; 63(3): 233-239.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Igaku Shoin)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21386124

Abstract

Quiet standing and walking are generally considered to be an automatic process regulated by sensory feedback. In our report "Astasia without abasia due to peripheral neuropathy," which was published in 1994, we proposed that forced stepping in patients lacking the ankle torque is a compensatory motor control in order to maintain an upright posture. A statistical-biomechanics approach to the human postural control system has revealed open-loop (descending) control as well as closed-loop (feedback) control in quiet standing, and fractal dynamics in stride-to-stride fluctuations of walking. The descending control system of bipedal upright posture and gait may have a functional link to cognitive domains. Increasing dependence on the descending control system with aging may play a role in falls in elderly people.

Language: ja