Project: IMPROVING POSTURAL CONTROL BY INNOVATIVE STIMULATION OF THE PROPRIOCEPTIVE SYSTEM

Acronym	IMPULSES (Reference Number: NEURON-086)
Duration	01/01/2021 - 31/08/2024
Project Topic	Proprioception, i.e. the sense of body position and movements, provides crucial information for balance control. Accordingly, impaired proprioception alters postural contorl and gait, as observed in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and older adults, with deleterious consequences for their independence. On the other hand, increasing proprioceptive information may represent a critical trigger for sensorimotor adaptations. IMPULSES investigates an innovative approach, combining local vibration (LV) or somatosensory electrical stimulation (SES) with postural exercises to stress the sensorimotor integration of the proprioceptive signals, and thereby improve postural and gait control. Three main hypotheses will be challenged by IMPULSES :1/ Changes in ankle proprioception across lifespan will parallel the change in postural control and gait; 2/ Intervention based on combined SES or LV with postural exercises can further improve postural control, compared with postural exercises alone, through better proprioception in two populations differing by several aspects; 3/ Improved postural control after intervention will be associated with neural plasticity at spinal and corticospinal levels. Confirming these hypotheses will open new perspectives in rehabilitation therapies and preventive interventions, and will offer fundamental knowledge regarding sensorimotor integration in relation with posture and gait, which can be extended to other purposes and clinical populations.
Network	NEURON Cofund
Call	Call for Proposals for Transnational Research Projects on Sensory Disorders

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Université libre de Bruxelles	Coordinator	Belgium
2	Aristotle University of Thessaloniki	Partner	Greece
3	Université Jean Monnet	Partner	France