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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Development of the coordination between posture and manual control.

Jeffrey M Haddad¹, Laura J Claxton, Rachel Keen

¹Department of Health and Kinesiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47906, USA. jmhaddad@purdue.edu

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

|October 5, 2011

Summary

Children develop postural control strategies for reaching tasks around age 10. This allows them to adapt trunk movements based on task difficulty, improving manual control.

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Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings

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Published on: July 26, 2022

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Last Updated: May 28, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings

Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings

Published on: July 26, 2022

Area of Science:

Developmental motor control
Biomechanics of posture and reaching

Background:

Postural control is crucial for reaching, but its developmental coordination with manual control is understudied.
Understanding this interplay is key to grasping motor development in childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the developmental coordination between postural and manual control in children and adults.
To examine how task constraints (precision, postural, visual) influence this coordination.

Main Methods:

Participants (7-year-olds, 10-year-olds, adults) performed a precision fitting task.
Arm and trunk kinematics, and center of pressure data were collected.
Task constraints were systematically manipulated.

Main Results:

Young children (7-year-olds) stabilized their trunk before performing the manual task.
Adults and older children (10-year-olds) exhibited compensatory trunk movements.
10-year-olds showed adult-like strategies under low constraints but child-like strategies under high constraints.

Conclusions:

The ability to modulate postural control based on task demands emerges around 10 years of age.
This developmental milestone facilitates learning complex motor skills within environmental contexts.