- V Grigorova: Motor Control Laboratory, Institute of Physiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia. valgri@bio.bas.bg
We aimed at estimating the effect of central sensory disinteraction on postural sway (PS) and optokinetic reflex (OKR) maintaining concurrently body balance. Healthy humans (N) and patients (P) with multiple sclerosis, and undergone infarct in the middle cerebral artery were examined. They stood on stable platform and foam rubber under three conditions: eyes open; eyes closed; during horizontal central optokinetic stimulation (COKS). On stable platform, a difference between PS of N and P was not found, while on foam rubber, PS of P was significantly greater than PS of N. During COKS on stable platform, PS increased only in P, while on foam rubber it increased in both N and P. OKR gain of N was circa 1 on stable and unstable supports, while that of P was 0.5. We concluded that artificial sensory disinteraction causes strong postural instability, but does not affect OKR.