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Oculomotor tasks affect differently postural control in healthy children
Maria Pia Bucci1, Layla Ajrezo1, Sylvette Wiener-Vacher1
1Vestibular and Oculomotor Evaluation Unit, ENT Department, Robert Debré University Hospital, 48 Boulevard Sérurier, 75019 Paris, France; UMR 1141, INSERM - Université Paris 7, Robert Debré University Hospital, 48 Boulevard Sérurier, Paris, France.
Insights
Visual attention during saccades and reading improves children's postural stability. However, pursuit eye movements negatively impact balance, indicating a link between oculomotor control and posture.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Biomechanics
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Postural control develops throughout childhood, typically improving until adolescence.
- Eye movements are known to influence balance, but the specific effects of different oculomotor tasks require further investigation.
- Understanding the interplay between visual attention and motor control is crucial for child development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how different types of eye movements (saccades, pursuits, reading) affect postural stability in healthy children.
- To determine if visual attention or saccade frequency is the primary driver of changes in postural control.
- To explore the interaction between the oculomotor system and postural control mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Recorded eye movements using video oculography (MobilEBT®) in 51 healthy children (6.3–15.5 years).
- Measured postural stability using a force platform (TechnoConcept®) while children performed saccades, pursuits, and silent reading.
- Analyzed saccade frequency, words read, and center of pressure (CoP) parameters (surface area, length, velocity).
Main Results:
- Saccades and reading tasks significantly reduced center of pressure (CoP) displacement and velocity, enhancing postural stability.
- Pursuit eye movements led to increased CoP parameters, indicating reduced postural stability.
- Visual attention during saccades (to targets or words) had a greater impact on postural stability than saccade frequency.
Conclusions:
- Oculomotor control and postural systems are interconnected in children.
- Visual attention is a key factor influencing postural stability during specific eye movement tasks.
- The findings highlight the importance of visual attention in maintaining balance during visually guided activities.
Abstract:
Eye movements affect postural stability in children. The present study focuses on the effect of different types of eye movements on postural stability in healthy children. Both eye movements and postural stability have been recorded in 51 healthy children from 6.3 to 15.5 years old. Eye movements were recorded binocularly with a video oculography (MobilEBT(®)), and postural stability was measured while child was standing on a force platform (TechnoConcept(®)). Children performed three oculomotor tasks: saccades, pursuits and reading a text silently. We measured the number of saccades made in the three oculomotor tasks, the number of words read, and the surface area, the length and mean velocity of the center of pressure (CoP). According to previous studies, postural control improves with age until 10-12 years. Saccades toward a target as well as during a reading task reduce significantly the CoP displacement and its velocity, while during pursuit eye movements all children increase postural parameters (i.e., the surface area, the length and mean velocity of the CoP). These results suggest the presence of an interaction between the oculomotor control and the postural system. Visual attention to perform saccades (to stationary targets or to words) influences postural stability more than the frequency of saccade triggering does.
