AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 239, Issue 1 80-R92, Copyright © 1980 by American Physiological Society
A predictive model study of the visual contribution to canine postural control
R. E. Talbott and J. M. Brookhart
Dogs were trained to stand on a movable table and their quiet stance was
perturbed by osccillation of the table during normal sighted condition and
during blindfolded condition. The data formed the frequency response
characteristic (describing function) for postural control with and without
visual input. A feedback model was tested to assess the effect of visual
input during the perturbation of quiet stance. The results of the tests of
the model indicate that the effect of a visual input depends on the context
of the multiple sensory factors influencing postural control. The
effectiveness of the visual input increases if there is a conflict between
the visually derived body position cues and the other cues that indicate
the orientation of the body.
