Differences in sensory reweighting due to loss of visual and proprioceptive cues in postural stability support among sleep-deprived cadet pilots

• Published in: Gait & posture 2018-06, Vol.63, p.97-103
• Main Authors: Cheng, Shan, Ma, Jin, Sun, Jicheng, Wang, Jian, Xiao, Xiao, Wang, Yihan, Hu, Wendong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Postural stability; Sensory reweighting; Sleep deprivation; Static posturography; Subjective sleep assessment
• ISSN: 0966-6362; 1879-2219
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.04.037

•Effects of sleep deprivation differed between different sensory conditions.•Sensory reweighting differed between 28 and 40 h of sleep deprivation.•Compensatory mechanisms influenced sensory reweighting at 40 h of sleep deprivation.•Effects of compensatory mechanisms differed between different sensory conditions.•Posturographic data correlated with a subjective assessment of sleepiness. Sleep deprivation is known to diminish postural control. We investigated whether sleep deprivation affects sensory reweighting for postural control due to loss of visual and proprioceptive cues. Two cohorts of cadet pilots were deprived of sleep for 40 h. Variabilty in force-platform center of pressure was analyzed based on the whole path length (WPL); circumference area (CA); mean of displacement along x and y axes and corresponding standard deviations (SDx, SDy); and frequency of body-sway intensity, all of which were recorded while the cadets stood with eyes open (NEO), eyes closed (NEC), and eyes closed on a foam platform base (FEC) A sleepiness index (SUBI) based on principal component analysis of selected Cohort 1 data (n = 37) was used to compare Cohort 2 data (n = 29) with scores for the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Balance began to deteriorate at 16 h for NEO and at 28 h for NEC and FEC (p