SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
You can also download program in PDF:
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Refreshment point — Centre of Experimental Medicine, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Sienkiewiczova 1, Bratislava (Google Maps)
Shuttle bus to Smolenice — meeting point: Fajnorovo nábrežie, parking lot (Google Maps)
Registration and accommodation, Smolenice Castle
Opening address — Director, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Carpenter M. G.Canada — Balancing "on edge": the effects of fear and anxiety on sensori-motor control of balance
Monday, September 21, 2026
Breakfast
Session 1 · Balance and Gait Control in Neurological Diseases — Stroke
Chairs: Menant, Weerdesteyn
Menant J.Australia — Interactive cognitive-motor step training to improve balance and mobility in clinical groups at risk of falls
Weerdesteyn V.The Netherlands — Single-session perturbation-based training followed by home-based exergaming to enhance resistance to falls after stroke
Kolářová B.Czech Republic — Gait recovery after first-ever ischemic stroke: a pilot observational study
Bzdúšková D.Slovakia — Effects of visual biofeedback-based training on limits of stability and functional outcomes in subacute stroke patients
Coffee break
Session 2 · Sensory Integration
Chairs: Wright, Oates
Wright W. G.USA — Beyond the sensory organization test: a portable scalable virtual reality platform for precision assessment of postural control
Assländer L.Germany — Validity of the rod and frame test and the Romberg ratio as methods to assess visual dependence in human standing balance
Oates A.Canada — Sensorimotor integration for backward walking balance control
Fujii M.USA — Postural control in response to simultaneous six-dimensional pseudorandom platform perturbations
Introduction of the Communication in Kinesiology (CiK) — S. Bruijn
Lunch
Session 3 · Balance and Gait Control in Neurological Diseases — Parkinson's Disease
Chairs: Horak, Ehgoetz Martens
Ehgoetz Martens K.Canada — Combining digital outcomes of mobility with mobile brain imaging to predict future Parkinson's disease
Jeka J.USA — Transcranial photobiomodulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease
Papacek O.Czech Republic — Preoperative freezing of gait predicts long-term gait outcomes after deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease
Santos P.C.R.Brazil — Motor severity does not affect habituation to unpredictable postural perturbations in Parkinson's disease
Coffee break + POSTERS 1
Session 4 · Vestibular System
Chairs: Reynolds, Jeka
Reynolds R.UK — Ocular torsion responses to electrical vestibular stimulation in Ménière's disease and vestibular schwannoma
Gaskell P.UK — Ocular torsional responses to electrical vestibular stimulation in children: a tolerability and feasibility study
Slováková M.Czech Republic — Unrecognized benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in older adults
Zur O.Israel — Beyond vestibular recovery: functional gait improvement through sensorimotor adaptation after COVID-19
Coffee break
Session 5 · Models in Postural Control
Chairs: Bruijn, Hatzitaki
Bruijn S.The Netherlands — The limits of using angular momentum to control center of mass position
Geng Y.The Netherlands — Position gains during standing remain slightly above critical values under different loading conditions
Hatzitaki V.Greece — Effect of body lean on stopping a voluntary forward sway
Nigrelli E.USA — Design recommendations for automated balance training systems
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Breakfast
Session 6 · Ageing
Chairs: Baudry, Svoboda
Baudry S.Belgium — Ageing shifts postural control toward greater visual reliance
Menant J.Australia — Cortical activity during a gait adaptability task in older adults
Giesbers I.The Netherlands — Ageing affects the neural mechanisms of reflexive step initiation
Svoboda Z.Czech Republic — Functional differences between lower limbs during gait in relation to fall risk
Slobodová L.Slovakia — Physical fitness, body composition, and cognitive profiles in older adults: a sex-specific perspective
Coffee break + POSTERS 2
Session 7 · Muscles, EMG and Sport
Chairs: Ebenbichler, Di Giulio
Ebenbichler G.Austria — Impact of machine-based core muscle strengthening on back muscle function in chronic low back pain across age groups and sexes
Di Giulio I.UK — Asymmetries in individuals with lower limb amputation are not explained by muscle co-contraction. A pilot study
Klein T.Czech Republic — Motor-unit behavior of abductor hallucis and medial gastrocnemius during concentric, eccentric and isometric heel-rise conditions
Gonosová Z.Czech Republic — Eccentric strength and postural perturbations following gymnastic landings
Křižanová J.Czech Republic — Postural stability during skating-specific postural tasks in female figure skaters of different age
Lunch
Social activities — timing confirmed later, depending on activity chosen
Guided tour of the Castle (optional)
Young Scientist Awards (Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster Presentation)
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Breakfast
Check-out
Departure of the shuttle bus to Bratislava
Estimated arrival in Bratislava
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
MONDAY, SEPT 21, 2026 Posters 1 · 15:20–16:20
Van Baelen E. Belgium — Posture and gait outcomes following otolith-targeted vestibular implantation in adults with bilateral vestibulopathy
Arts R. Belgium — Baseline patient-reported and demographic predictors of gait response after vestibular implantation in adults with bilateral vestibulopathy
Reynolds R. UK — Age-related changes in head-to-foot proprioception do not influence vestibular-evoked balance response direction
Fujii M. USA — The impact of mild hypoxia on postural control
Huxley J. UK — Gait and balance features in Parkinson's disease
Janovič Š. Slovakia — Longitudinal change in antisaccade error rate is associated with TUG performance after STN-DBS in Parkinson's disease
Kitsikoudis P. Greece — Muscle activation patterns underlying successful stopping of voluntary sway at different body lean positions
TUESDAY, SEPT 22, 2026Posters 2 · 10:10–11:00
Ely M. Czech Republic — Participants' perspectives on the EnviroFit60+ physical activity and environmental health program for older adults
Jasenská M. Czech Republic — Monitoring gait motor imagery across experimental conditions before and during fMRI
Gábor M. Slovakia — Autoreflex prenatal and postnatal positions: a clinical concept for postural control rehabilitation
Kimijanová J. Slovakia — Alterations of anterior limit of stability in pregnancy and postpartum under visual deprivation
Hirjaková Z. Slovakia — Trunk sway jerkiness: a sensitive indicator of fear-related postural stiffening during virtual height exposure
Musialová L. Czech Republic — Lower-limb dynamic stability profile and its association with functional hop performance in female football players
The program may still be updated. Last update: SEPTEMBER 3, 12:15 pm.