Figure 1.

Basic signal flow involved in postural control. Multisensory signals from the visual, vestibular, auditory, somatosensory (proprioceptive), and visceral receptors act on various sites in the central nervous system. These signals may provide cognitive and emotional references to the cerebral cortex and limbic system, respectively, so that the subject may elicit either voluntary movements or emotional motor behavior depending on the context. In each case, automatic process of postural control, such regulation of postural muscle tone and basic postural reflexes, by the brainstem and spinal cord is required. On the other hand, cognitive postural control is particularly important when the subject learns motor skills and behaves in unfamiliar circumstance. See text for detail explanation. Modified from Takakusaki. Mov Disord 2013;28:1483-1491, with permission of Wiley [6].