The Leonard Lopate Show

Does proprioception rely on muscle memory? Are they the same thing?

is there local proprioception? I mean can your feet have weaker proprioception than your upper body for instance? I feel weird on rollerblades when I have to step down from a curb -

In movies we always see people walking around with a book on their head to improve their balance... Does anything like this actually work?

I thought the book on the head was for posture -

Also it seems to take time when you want to get your body to agree with proprioception (I am guessing) - I say this as a figure skater who has always been a natural spinner - you have to get your muscles to work to keep you in balance - centered - but it also takes repetition to get there and not be dizzy

I have a son with Asperger's Syndrome. Before we knew this we noticed that he had sensory integration dysfunctions. For example: he would fall off a ledge if we didn't hold on to him, he would literally walk into walls. This improved dramatically with occupational therapy. He also responds to physical insults by throwing up. I have read that this is common in the autism spectrum. I would love for your guests to discuss this.

I get motion sickness in cars or on the train when I'm facing the direction that the vehicle is travelling. However, if I sit sideways, I don't get motion sickness. Why is that?

Listening online... When I close my eyes and bow my head in church I noticed years ago that I feel like I'm going to fall over to the left or right... ????

A more worrysome problem is elevators...as I age it gets worst (I'm 30) but when I get off of an elevator I have to stand VERY still or I do end up with vertigo and usually it's again a side to side issue where I feel that I'm falling over to the let or right...????

What is affecting this or what could be affecting this?

In an exercise class for seniors we always seek to improve balance by trying to balance on one foot adjusting arms and putting the foot not on the ground in front, in back, etc. I do not seem to be improving especially with the right foot. Is this exercise slowly improving balance in a way that is not yet discernible? Or is it simply not helpful?

Is imbalance inherited? (My Dad had trouble with balance as he aged.)Thanks.

Is dizziness linked to low blood sugar? I get flashes of dizziness and nausea in the morning, and I think it is because I don't eat or drink anything for breakfast.

I wonder if your guests think that "whole body vibration" exercise machines help with balance, as some sources claim - is it a similar benefit as the vibrating insoles that Ms. Blakeslee said are helpful for older people.

is there a relation between this and body dysmorphic disorder or anorexia? One guest mentioned that a vibration could convince someone that their waist was smaller...

Why is it that we often don't recognize pain or physical until we see our injuries?

Can change in weather presure pattern affect balance

re guest comment that this sense automatically adjusts for example if you are wearing a hat, there seem to be alot of people on the subway who

we senses don't adjust for the giant backpacks they are wearing...

Do you think these disabilities (such as in fibromyalgia) have to do with all the microwaves and electronics we have all around?

FYI, Oliver Sacks did write about proprioception in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. The chapter is called "The bodiless woman" I think.

Great show!!

To YH (comment #6): I have the same thing, but only when I read. I thought it might be because when I sit sideways & read, my eyes, following the lines in the book, are moving in the same direction as the vehicle, but when I face forward, they move perpendicular to the direction of overall motion. If it can also happen in some people even when they aren't reading, maybe my explanation isn't relevant after all.

For the listeners who asked about the difficulty that their children are having with balance, one thought in helping them with many of these problems, is that they appear to arise from difficulties within the visual system.

By strengthening the muscles of accommodation (ie, so called push - pull visual eye exercises within the visual system, it may help with both balance and proprioception.

Weak eye muscles, the over taxing of the eyes with long stretches of reading and too much TV etc may be contributory.

Sara if it is vertigo there's an acupressure or acupuncture point that's great for this - St 36 if you can look it up.

:)

Can I find out more about the guest's comment that neurontin is being used in small amounts to treat auto-immune disease?