Recruiting

Vestibular Stimulation

Sponsor:

Creighton University

Code:

NCT06732440

Conditions

Vestibular Hypofunction

Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction

Presbyvestibulopathy

Healthy Controls

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 19 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Subthreshold Vestibular Conditioning

Balance Training

Balance Training Plus Subthreshold Conditioning

Study Details

Brief summary:

The nervous system responds to changes in external or internal conditions by altering the behavior of neurons through multiple forms of neural plasticity. A specific form of plasticity, "homeostatic plasticity", stabilizes neural activity by driving the excitability of neurons toward a "set-point" level of activity. Over the last six years, new data have come to light showing that the vestibular system also possess a robust capacity to modulate sensitivity to self-motion cues in response to prolonged periods of motion. Collectively, these studies have demonstrated a capacity to use motion perturbations (i.e., low, or high levels of vestibular stimulation) to dynamically adjust the sensitivity of the vestibular system on both the single neuron and behavioral levels. The ability to use subthreshold motion stimuli to drive plasticity in the vestibular system motivates this study. The investigators aim to determine the impact of subthreshold motion on (a) balance performance and (b) balance training in individuals with peripheral vestibular hypofunction.

Conditions

Vestibular Hypofunction

Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction

Presbyvestibulopathy

Healthy Controls

Study ID

NCT06732440

Start date

Feb 9, 2026

Status verified date

Mar, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 19 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria for Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction:

1\. Bilateral lateral canal VOR gain of < 0.8 on video head impulse testing OR bilateral positive bedside head impulse test

Inclusion Criteria for Unilateral Vestibular Hypofunction:

1\. Unilateral yaw aVOR gain of < 0.8 on video head impulse testing OR unilateral positive bedside head impulse test

Inclusion Criteria for all Participants:

1. Must be able to stand for 5 minutes unassisted
2. No leg or foot amputations
3. No lower limb braces
4. Not currently pregnant by self-report
5. Weight <= 300 pounds (due to limitations of testing equipment)

Exclusion Criteria for all participants:

1. Severe head trauma or traumatic brain injury
2. History of seizures
3. Alternative neurologic illness or condition known to impact vestibular or balance function (e.g., stroke, neurodegenerative disorders, demyelinating illness)
4. Major psychiatric (e.g., panic disorder, psychosis, etc.) disorder
5. Any of the following eye diseases or conditions: amblyopia (or "lazy eye") or history of amblyopia, diagnosis of age- related macular degeneration, retina dystrophy, glaucoma, cataracts,
6. Recent (<6 months) orthopedic injury that may affect test performance
7. Recent surgery (< 6 months) that may impact test performance.
8. Other severe health problems (heart disease, pulmonary disease, cancer, etc.) that may affect test performance
9. Due to potentially nauseogenic nature of some motions and to protect fetus and mother, pregnant women will also be excluded from this study

  • Since the investigators cannot address every possible potential individual recruit in advance, additional exclusion criteria may be required.

Study Design

Enrollment

48 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Balance training performed with and without added subthreshold conditioning.

Each participant in this single group design will complete the same three conditions of the experiment in a randomized order.

Interventions

Subthreshold Vestibular Conditioning

Subthreshold vestibular conditioning will be performed while seated on a motion platform and blindfolded. The stimulus will consist of a pseudorandom sum-of-sinusoids roll tilt motion (\~0.08 to 1 Hz) delivered at a peak velocity equal to 57.4% of the measured baseline roll tilt perceptual threshold (e.g., 0.574°/s for a 1 °/s threshold). The participant will be informed that while the chair may vibrate or move slightly, the motion will not occur in any particular direction.

Balance Training

Balance training will consist of progressive exposure to continuous one-dimensional roll pseudorandom platform perturbations delivered using a 6DoF motion platform. Participants will stand on a MOOG hexapod motion platform and will be secured using a safety harness tethered to the ceiling and a full enclosure of safety rails. Roll tilt perturbations will be progressed by gradually increasing the displacement/velocity/acceleration of the platform motion.

Balance Training Plus Subthreshold Conditioning

Subthreshold vestibular conditioning will be performed while seated on a motion platform and blindfolded prior to each bout of balance training. Subthreshold conditioning will consist of a pseudorandom sum-of-sinusoids roll tilt motion (\~0.08 to 1 Hz) delivered at a peak velocity equal to 57.4% of the measured baseline roll tilt perceptual threshold (e.g., 0.574°/s for a 1 °/s threshold). The participant will be informed that while the chair may vibrate or move slightly, the motion will not occur in any particular direction. Balance training will consist of progressive exposure to continuous two-dimensional (2D) pseudorandom platform perturbations delivered using a 6DoF motion platform. 2D perturbations (roll and pitch tilt) will be progressed by gradually increasing the displacement/velocity/acceleration of the motion stimulus.

Primary outcome measure

  • Perturbed Stance Postural Control [ Time Frame: At each of the 4 visits, outcome measures will be captured at (1) beginning of the visit (i.e., baseline), (2) post-intervention (20 minutes after baseline), and (3) post-washout (20 minutes after the post-intervention assessment). ]
  • Vestibular Perceptual Thresholds - 0.5Hz Roll Tilt [ Time Frame: At each of the 4 visits, outcome measures will be captured at (1) beginning of the visit (i.e., baseline), (2) post-intervention (20 minutes after baseline), and (3) post-washout (20 minutes after the post-intervention assessment). ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Andrew R Wagner, PhD

402.280.5188andrewwagner@creighton.edu

Locations

Creighton University

Recruiting

Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68178

Contacts

Andrew R Wagner, PhD

402.280.5188andrewwagner@creighton.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Creighton University

Last update posted

Mar 17, 2026

Last verified

Mar, 2026

Keywords

  • Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction
  • Vestibular Rehabilitation

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Creighton University on 2026-03-17.