Hi fellow AAAS members,
I am a neuroscientist whose research interests include the functions of the vestibular system in balance and spatial orientation. Having had the privilege of serving on the occupational therapy faculty here at the University of Minnesota i learned from the OTs about a condition of life-long balance problems they identify as "gravitational insecurity" (GrI) - children with GrI don't like to climb, may not skate or bike, & don't care to be picked up - they like their feet on the ground, as they say about themselves. Adults with GrI avoid stepladders, have trouble on escalators & may even have difficulty tilting their heads back to wash their hair. Despite a population prevalence estimated at 2% GrI remains unknown to the greater healthcare community. In working to understand the causes of GrI and then inform physicians, psychologists and others who might have people with GrI as patients, i discovered that the brainstem vestibular velocity storage circuit that functions to increase the gain and time constant for small, slow head rotations is underpowered in GrI (Potegal et al 2022). However, because this study left open the possibility that there may also be deficiencies in the central processing of gravity direction signals from the otolith organs, i have initiated a follow-up project. If the descriptions of life-long balance problems sound like you & you live in the Minneapolis-St Paul MN area or will be visiting in the next few months, please contact me for more information about GrI and the possibility of participating in the on-going study. Mike Potegal poteg001@umn.edu
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Michael Potegal
Associate Professor ad Honorem
University of Minnesota
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