title: Spatial and temporal postural analysis: a developmental study in healthy children.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: UMR 1141 Inserm, Université Paris Diderot, Hôpital Robert Debré, 48 Boulevard Sérurier, 75019 Paris, France. Electronic address: gouleme.nathalie@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gouleme
authors.affiliation: UMR 1141 Inserm, Université Paris Diderot, Hôpital Robert Debré, 48 Boulevard Sérurier, 75019 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marie Désirée
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ezane
authors.affiliation: UMR 1141 Inserm, Université Paris Diderot, Hôpital Robert Debré, 48 Boulevard Sérurier, 75019 Paris, France; Vestibular and Oculomotor Evaluation Unit, ORL Dept., Robert Debré Pediatric Hospital, 48 Bld Sérurier, 75019 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Sylvette
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wiener-Vacher
authors.affiliation: UMR 1141 Inserm, Université Paris Diderot, Hôpital Robert Debré, 48 Boulevard Sérurier, 75019 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bucci
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011312:Pressure; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Development; Healthy children; Postural control; Sensorial input; Wavelet transformation