Sensory information and the perception of verticality in post-stroke patients. Another point of view in sensory reweighting strategies

INTRODUCTION: Perception of verticality is highly related to balance control in human. Head-on-body tilt <60° results in the E-effect, meaning that a tilt of the perceived vertical is observed contralateral to the head tilt in the frontal plane. Furthermore, somatosensory loss also impacts the accuracy of verticality perception. However, when several input sources are absent or biased, less options for sensory weighting and balance control occur. Therefore, this study aims to identify the E-effect and assess the effect of somatosensory loss on the extent of the E-effect. METHODS: All patients with a first stroke admitted to a Belgian rehabilitation hospital were eligible for inclusion. Patients aged above 80 with other neurological and orthopaedic impairments as well as brainstem, cerebellar or multiple lesions were excluded. In addition, patients with visuospatial neglect and pusher behaviour were also excluded as this can affect verticality perception. The Rivermead Assessment of ...