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. 2015 Mar 23;10(3):e0122340.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122340. eCollection 2015.

Adaptation of sensorimotor coupling in postural control is impaired by sleep deprivation

Stefane A Aguiar  1 , José A Barela  2
Affiliations

Adaptation of sensorimotor coupling in postural control is impaired by sleep deprivation

Stefane A Aguiar et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation (SD) in adaptation of the coupling between visual information and body sway in young adults' postural control due to changes in optic flow characteristics. Fifteen young adults were kept awake for approximately 25 hours and formed the SD group, while fifteen adults who slept normally the night before the experiment participated as part of the control group. All participants stood as still as possible in a moving room before and after being exposed to one trial with higher amplitude and velocity of room movement. Postural performance and the coupling between visual information, provided by a moving room, and body sway were examined. Results showed that after an abrupt change in visual cues, larger amplitude, and higher velocity of the room, the influence of room motion on body sway was decreased in both groups. However, such a decrease was less pronounced in sleep deprived as compared to control subjects. Sleep deprived adults were able to adapt motor responses to the environmental change provided by the increase in room motion amplitude. Nevertheless, they were not as efficient as control subjects in doing so, which demonstrates that SD impairs the ability to adapt sensorimotor coupling while controlling posture when a perturbation occurs.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Schematic representation of the experimental design employed in this study.
Number of trials and room movement parameters are described for pre-change, change, and post-change trials. Results for all dependent variables were averaged for each subject in the three trials of both pre- and post-change trials. Results of change trials were not included the in analyses.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Time-series and amplitude spectra of body oscillation and moving room displacement of a representative subject of the control group during a pre-change trial.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Mean and standard deviation values of mean sway amplitude in pre- and post-change trials for both sleep deprivation (SD) and control groups.
Note: (*) represent significant pairwise comparisons, which was used for a group x trial interaction.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Mean and standard deviation values of gain and phase in all room movement cycles in pre-change, change, and post-change trials for both sleep deprivation (SD) and control groups.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Mean and standard deviation values of gain and phase in pre- and post-change trials for both sleep deprivation (SD) and control groups.
Note: (*) represent significant pairwise comparisons, which was used for group x trial interaction for gain and trial effect for phase.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Mean and standard deviation values of position and velocity variability in pre- and post-change trials for both sleep deprivation (SD) and control groups.
Note: (*) represent significant pairwise comparisons, which was used for group x trial interaction for both position and velocity variability.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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