Effect of Vestibular Perceptual Learning on Vestibular Thresholds and Balance

Summary

The intervention being studied is a minimal risk perceptual learning protocol delivered in an academic laboratory setting; the goal of the intervention is to improve the perception of passive whole-body tilts and/or translations, as well as balance, by providing feedback following passive tilts or translations of the body. The protocol lasts a total of \~45 days: Day 1 includes a pre-test assessment of perception and balance, as well as 100 repetitions of training, Days 2-7 each include 400 repetitions of training, and Day 6 includes only post-test assessments of perception and balance.

Conditions

• Healthy Aging

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Roll Tilt Training

The participants will be tilted and asked to indicate their perceived direction of self-motion (e.g., left or right). Feedback will be provided to promote learning (i.e., improved perception of motion). Feedback will only be provided after the subject response, and thus vestibular (i.e., self-motion) perception is required to judge the direction of the tilt stimulus. After each trial, a three second period of rest will be given. Each day of training will include four blocks of one-hundred trials each. Testing will take place in the dark (except for aims where a visual cue is provided). Subjects will be seated on a motion platform with a 5-point harness and the head restrained. Insert earbuds (along with a white noise signal) will be used to reduce external noise. Subjects will always be asked to make a decision (e.g. left versus right) by pressing buttons with their left or right hands. If not certain, subjects are instructed to provide their best guess.

BEHAVIORAL

Translation Training

The participants will be translated and asked to indicate their perceived direction of self-motion (e.g., left or right). Feedback will be provided to promote learning (i.e., improved perception of motion). Feedback will only be provided after the subject responds, and thus vestibular (i.e., self-motion) perception is required to judge the direction of the translation stimulus. After each trial, a three second period of rest will be given. Each day of training will include four blocks of one hundred trials each. Testing will take place in the dark (except for aims where a visual cue is provided). Subjects will be seated on a motion platform with a 5-point harness and the head restrained. Insert earbuds (along with a white noise signal) will be used to reduce external noise. Subjects will always be asked to make a decision (e.g. left versus right) by pressing buttons with their left or right hands. If not certain, subjects are instructed to provide their best guess.

BEHAVIORAL

Both Tilt and Translation Training

The participants will be equally tilted and translated and asked to indicate their perceived direction of self-motion (e.g., left or right) . Feedback will be provided to promote learning (i.e., improved perception of motion). Feedback will only be provided after the subject responds. After each trial, a three second period of rest will be given. Each day of training will include four blocks; 2 blocks of roll tilt and 2 blocks of translation - one hundred trials each. Testing will take place in the dark (except for aims where a visual cue is provided). Subjects will be seated on a motion platform with a 5-point harness and the head restrained. Insert earbuds (along with a white noise signal) will be used to reduce external noise. Subjects will always be asked to make a decision (e.g. left versus right) by pressing buttons with their left or right hands. If not certain, subjects are instructed to provide their best guess.

BEHAVIORAL

Placebo Control

Participants will complete home-based exercises that are not associated with improving vestibular perception or balance (e.g. saccades, smooth pursuit). Participants will sit in a comfortable chair facing out into a living space. They will then find a stationary object to the right and to the left of themselves as well as above and below their line of sight. Without moving their heads, they will look back and forth and up and down between the objects. Participants will complete a total of 400 eye motions per day for six days.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Aging (NIA)

  collaborator NIH

• Ohio State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Daniel M Merfeld, PhD · Ohio State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Max Age

89 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-08-13

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2027-04-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations