The involvement of the motor cortex in postural control: a delicate balancing act

摘要

Whenever we move, our brain tunes our postural reflexes so that our balance is maintained. This remarkable task is usually accomplished without any conscious thought on our part. Depending on the task at hand, the output of multiple muscles must be constantly tweaked to maintain balance. How this is accomplished is a mystery that is far from being understood. Part of the complexity of the problem is that posture is controlled by numerous interacting networks such as the spinal cord, cerebellum, cortex and brainstem (Jacobs & Horak, 2007; Deliagina et al. 2008).