Coupling of single cutaneous afferents in the hand with ankle muscles, and their response to rapid light touch displacements

Abstract

Light touch provides cutaneous feedback argued to contribute to balance control and shown to reduce postural sway. We demonstrate that activity of cutaneous afferents in the median nerve modulates motor pool excitability of ankle muscles at short latencies and that these afferents respond when a light touch contact is displaced. These findings suggest that cutaneous receptors of the hand can contribute to rapid regulation of muscle activity important to standing balance.