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Spatial and temporal postural analysis: a developmental study in healthy children
Author(s) -
Gouleme Nathalie,
Ezane Marie Désirée,
WienerVacher Sylvette,
Bucci Maria Pia
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2014.08.011
Subject(s) - center of pressure (fluid mechanics) , eyes open , physical medicine and rehabilitation , novelty , psychology , force platform , audiology , medicine , physical therapy , balance (ability) , social psychology , aerodynamics , engineering , aerospace engineering
The aim of this study was to explore further the development of postural control in healthy children. The novelty of this study was to resort to both spatial and temporal analysis of the center of pressure (CoP). Forty‐six healthy children from 4 to 16 years old (mean age: 9.1 ± 3 years) and a group of 13 healthy adults (mean age: 25 ± 3 years) participated to this study. Postural control was tested on both a stable and an unstable platform in three different visual conditions: eyes open fixating a target, under optocinetic stimulation, and eyes closed. Resul*ts showed a significant decrease of both surface area as well as mean velocity of the center of pressure (CoP) during childhood. With the children's increasing age, the spectral power indices decreased significantly and the canceling time increased significantly. Such improvement in postural control could be due to a better use of sensorial inputs and cerebellar integration during development, allowing subjects to achieve more efficient postural control.