Postural control and co-ordination disorders: The swinging room revisited

Author(s): MonWilliams, M., Rushton, K.

Journal/Book: Hum Movement Sci. 1998; 17: PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands. Elsevier Science BV. 491-513.

Abstract: The postural stability of different groups of children was examined using the ''swinging-room'' paradigm of Lee, D.N., Aronson, E., 1974. Perception and Psychophysics 15, 529-532. Nursery age children (3-4 years), children with co-ordination difficulties (DCD: 10-12 years), age-matched controls and adults were compared in their sway responses when they were presented with a moving visual world while standing upright on a static floor. Gain estimates for the vision-posture transfer function suggested that nursery children still depend upon vision as a major source of postural information, whereas this dependence is not evident in older control children. The children with DCD could be separated into two groups: (i) those who had postural control problems and demonstrated a bias to use visual information equivalent to the nursery children and (ii) those who passed a standard postural control assessment and did not differ from age-matched controls in the swinging room context.

Note: Article Wann JP, Univ Reading, Dept Psychol, Reading RG6 2AL, Berks, ENGLAND

Keyword(s): movement disorders; children; visual perception; balance; CLUMSY CHILDREN; KINAESTHETIC SENSITIVITY; VISUAL STABILIZATION; MOTOR CONTROL; OPTICAL-FLOW; INFORMATION; LOCOMOTION; JUDGEMENTS; INFANTS; VISION

Zurück | Weiter