Subthreshold Vestibular Stimulation as a Strategy for Rehabilitation

Part of paid clinical trials in Omaha, Nebraska.

Sponsor
Creighton University
Study ID
NCT06732440
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction
  • Healthy Controls
  • Presbyvestibulopathy
  • Vestibular Hypofunction

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
19 Years - 89 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Subthreshold Vestibular Conditioning — BEHAVIORAL
    Subthreshold vestibular conditioning will be performed while seated on a motion platform and blindfolded. The stimulus will consist of a pseudorandom sum-of-sinusoids roll tilt motion (\~0.08 to 1 Hz) delivered at a peak velocity equal to 57.4% of the measured baseline roll tilt perceptual threshold (e.g., 0.574°/s for a 1 °/s threshold). The participant will be informed that while the chair may vibrate or move slightly, the motion will not occur in any particular direction.
  • Balance Training — BEHAVIORAL
    Balance training will consist of progressive exposure to continuous one-dimensional roll pseudorandom platform perturbations delivered using a 6DoF motion platform. Participants will stand on a MOOG hexapod motion platform and will be secured using a safety harness tethered to the ceiling and a full enclosure of safety rails. Roll tilt perturbations will be progressed by gradually increasing the displacement/velocity/acceleration of the platform motion.
  • Balance Training Plus Subthreshold Conditioning — OTHER
    Subthreshold vestibular conditioning will be performed while seated on a motion platform and blindfolded prior to each bout of balance training. Subthreshold conditioning will consist of a pseudorandom sum-of-sinusoids roll tilt motion (\~0.08 to 1 Hz) delivered at a peak velocity equal to 57.4% of the measured baseline roll tilt perceptual threshold (e.g., 0.574°/s for a 1 °/s threshold). The participant will be informed that while the chair may vibrate or move slightly, the motion will not occur in any particular direction. Balance training will consist of progressive exposure to continuous two-dimensional (2D) pseudorandom platform perturbations delivered using a 6DoF motion platform. 2D perturbations (roll and pitch tilt) will be progressed by gradually increasing the displacement/velocity/acceleration of the motion stimulus.

Study Details

The nervous system responds to changes in external or internal conditions by altering the behavior of neurons through multiple forms of neural plasticity. A specific form of plasticity, "homeostatic plasticity", stabilizes neural activity by driving the excitability of neurons toward a "set-point" level of activity. Over the last six years, new data have come to light showing that the vestibular system also possess a robust capacity to modulate sensitivity to self-motion cues in response to prolonged periods of motion. Collectively, these studies have demonstrated a capacity to use motion perturbations (i.e., low, or high levels of vestibular stimulation) to dynamically adjust the sensitivity of the vestibular system on both the single neuron and behavioral levels. The ability to use subthreshold motion stimuli to drive plasticity in the vestibular system motivates this study. The investigators aim to determine the impact of subthreshold motion on (a) balance performance and (b) balance training in individuals with peripheral vestibular hypofunction.

Key Dates

Start date
Feb 9, 2026
Status verified
Mar 2026
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2026
Completion
Dec 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
48 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Balance training performed with and without added subthreshold conditioning.
    Each participant in this single group design will complete the same three conditions of the experiment in a randomized order.

Primary Outcome Measure

Perturbed Stance Postural Control [ Time Frame: At each of the 4 visits, outcome measures will be captured at (1) beginning of the visit (i.e., baseline), (2) post-intervention (20 minutes after baseline), and (3) post-washout (20 minutes after the post-intervention assessment). ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Creighton UniversityOmahaNebraska68178
Andrew R Wagner, PhD
[email protected]
402.280.5188

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By research site
Creighton University· Omaha, NE

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