Postural sway and brain potentials evoked by visual depth stimuli.

This study measured the postural sway and brain potentials evoked by a visual depth stimulus. Thirteen subjects maintained standing posture on a force platform, and were administered two types of depth stimuli, strong and weak. The latency and amplitude of evoked potentials as well as changes in center of foot pressure (CFP) and the electromyogram (EMG) were examined. CFP displacement was found to change according to stimulus intensity. In the occipital lobe, evoked potentials exhibited a triphasic peak, with the first positive peak at approximately 120 ms (P120), the first negative peak at approximately 160 ms (N200), and the second positive peak at approximately 260 ms (P250). Brain evoked potentials correlated with CFP displacement as well as the latency of onset of EMG response. Onset of EMG response was probably related to the P120 component, whereas CFP displacement was related to the P250 component.