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Updated: May 28, 2026
Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
Published on: September 11, 2019
Perception-action and adaptation in postural control of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy
José A Barela1, Grietje M Jaspers Focks, Toke Hilgeholt
1Institute of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Cruzeiro do Sul University - São Paulo, SP, Brazil. jose.barela@cruzeirodosul.edu.br
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) can use visual cues for balance like others, but adapt less effectively to changing visual information, impacting their postural control.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Postural control relies on integrating sensory information, primarily visual, vestibular, and somatosensory inputs.
- Individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) often exhibit impaired motor control and balance deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the coupling between visual information and body sway in children with CP.
- To assess the adaptive capabilities of sensory-motor coupling in response to visual stimuli in children with CP.
Main Methods:
- A moving room paradigm was used to manipulate visual input.
- Fifteen children with CP and 15 typically developing children (6-15 years) stood in the room.
- Body sway was measured under various visual motion conditions (different frequencies and velocities).
Main Results:
- Children with CP demonstrated comparable coupling of body sway to visual information as controls.
- However, children with CP showed greater body sway and variability when visual stimuli induced sway.
- Adaptive sensory-motor reweighting occurred in CP, but to a lesser extent than in controls.
Conclusions:
- Children with CP can utilize visual feedback for postural control but exhibit diminished adaptive capacity.
- Impaired adaptation in sensory-motor coupling may contribute to balance deficits in cerebral palsy.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to examine the coupling between visual information and body sway and the adaptation in this coupling of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). Fifteen children with and 15 without CP, 6-15 years old, were required to stand upright inside of a moving room. All children first performed two trials with no movement of the room and eyes open or closed, then four trials in which the room oscillated at 0.2 or 0.5 Hz (peak velocity of 0.6 cm/s), one trial in which the room oscillated at 0.2 Hz (peak velocity of 3.5 cm/s), and finally two other trials in which the room oscillated again at 0.2 Hz (peak velocity of 0.6 cm/s). Participants with CP coupled body sway to visual information provided by the moving room, comparable to the coupling of participants without CP. However, participants with CP exhibited larger body sway in maintaining upright position and more variable sway when body sway was induced by visual manipulation. They showed adaptive sensory motor coupling, e.g. down-weighting visual influence when a larger stimulus was provided, but not with the same magnitude as typically developing participants. This indicates that participants with CP have less capability of adaptation.
