Postural responses and spatial orientation to neck proprioceptive and vestibular inputs during locomotion in young and older adults

Both vestibular and neck proprioceptive inputs contribute towards maintaining a walking trajectory. We investigated how aging alters neck proprioceptive and vestibular interaction for preserving equilibrium and spatial orientation during locomotion. Young and healthy elderly were exposed to two sensory manipulations as they walked, eyes closed, to a target located straight ahead: (1) right side dorsal neck muscle vibration (Vib), and (2) Vib + transmastoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation (Vib + GVS). The maximum path deviation, average frontal centre of mass velocity and average trunk roll were evaluated. Trunk yaw rotation was computed at every metre of the path. We observed that directional responses to neck muscle stimulation were very sensitive to the reference frame generated by vestibular information. The attenuation of path deviation in older adults can be attributed to a reduced sensitivity of the neck proprioceptive system rather than the vestibular system.