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Subthreshold Vestibular Stimulation as a Strategy for Rehabilitation

RecruitingHealthy volunteers welcome

Who can join

Ages 19 to 89 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome

Full eligibility criteria
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.

About the study

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.

What is being tested

Sponsor: Creighton University · Participants: 48 · Started: Feb 9, 2026

Contact the study team

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06732440

Locations in the U.S.

NebraskaCreighton University, Omaha

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Oct 2, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.