Objective-To determine whether the cerebral cortex contributes to modifying upcoming postural responses to external perturbations when provided with prior warning of the perturbation.Methods-Electroencephalographic (EEG) potentials were recorded from 12 healthy human subjects (21-32 years of age) before perturbing their balance with backward translations of a platform under their feet. The subjects responded with and without a visual cue that warned them 2 seconds before the perturbation (the Cue and No Cue conditions, respectively).Results-Contingent negative variation (CNV) was evident before perturbation onset in only the Cue condition. In the Cue condition, the subjects also produced smaller center of pressure (CoP) displacements than in the No Cue condition. The cue-related difference in the subjects' CNV potentials correlated with the cue-related difference in their CoP displacements. No significant associations existed among the CNV potentials and any cue-related postural adjustments made before the perturbation.Conclusions-Cortical activity before an externally triggered perturbation associates with modifications of the ensuing postural response.Significance-This is the first study to demonstrate a cortical correlate for changes in central postural set that modify externally triggered postural responses based on anticipation.

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We investigated changes in saccadic reaction time in relation to the degree of increase in activity of neck extensor muscles when neck flexion occurred, and assessed the reliability of the measurements. Saccadic reaction time was measured firstly, during neck flexion angles set at 5 degrees increments from 0 degrees (resting position) to 25 degrees, with the chin either resting on a stand or not, and secondly, during shoulder girdle elevator muscles providing a relative muscle force of 30%, with the neck flexion angle maintained at 0 degrees by having the subjects rest their chins on a stand. Saccadic reaction time was evaluated by the latency to the beginning of eye movement toward the lateral target, which was moved at random intervals in 20 degrees amplitude jumps. Muscle activity in the trapezius muscle was evaluated using the mean amplitude of electromyogram recordings. Very high coefficients of reliability in muscle activity and saccadic reaction time were observed between the two sets of tests at 1-h intervals and also among the three trials with a 1-min rest. When their necks were flexed and the subjects rested their chins on a stand, muscle activity increased slightly in accordance with the enlargement of this angle, with no significant change in saccadic reaction time. With the chin not resting on the stand, muscle activity increased gradually, while the saccadic reaction time decreased to that obtained at an average neck flexion angle of 20 degrees. However, the angle where the shortest reaction time was obtained showed considerable individual variation (5-25 degrees ). Activity in the trapezius muscle at a 20 degrees neck flexion angle, with the chin not resting on the stand, was far less than that for 30% maximal voluntary contraction in shoulder girdle elevator muscles. Nevertheless, the saccadic reaction times were roughly equivalent under the two different sets of conditions. No sex differences were observed in terms of saccadic reaction time under any set of conditions.

These results confirm that gastrocnemius starts to deteriorate earlier and atrophies at a faster pace than soleus. A significant sex difference was found only in the onset age of gastrocnemius deterioration, which was earlier in men than in women.

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