Effects of periodic saccades on the body sway in human subjects

Abstract

The body sway in upright standing was decreased by periodic saccades. The decrease was also observed during voluntary rapid eye movements in complete darkness, indicating that the visual information was not concerned with the decrease of the sway. Continuous eye rotations did not affect the body sway, showing that the repetitive activation of eye muscle proprioceptors was not the cause of the sway reduction. These results suggest that some information related to the execution of saccades may affect the spinal motor system and cause the stabilization of the standing posture.