Mood states and anxiety influence abilities to maintain balance control in healthy human subjects.

Previous studies have shown that anxiety and balance disorders could be related; however, the association between psychological processes and equilibrium remains ambiguous. In this study, we have examined whether mood states and anxiety may influence the ability to use the somatosensory, visual and vestibular systems and affect balance control in healthy subjects. Seven male students were submitted to a program testing equilibrium over a 12-day period, during which moods and anxiety states were assessed using self-evaluated questionnaires. Significant negative correlations were found between moods, including anxiety, and the subject's sensory and motor systems of balance control, suggesting that low moods may alter balance performance. However, depending on the type of mood, it is likely that adverse changes in mood states may affect balance in different ways, either through the sensory organization or motor control. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.