Cortical facilitation of somatosensory inputs using gravity-related tactile information in humans with vestibular hypofunction

Somatosensory cortex excitability is greater in participants with bilateral vestibular hypofunction than in age-matched healthy humans. To control balance, healthy humans "locked" the head whereas participants with vestibular hypofunction "locked" their pelvis. For participants with vestibular hypofunction, increasing loading/unloading of the feet enhances the internal representation of body state in the posterior parietal cortex.