Influence of age, sex, etiology, and hearing loss on balance performance by deaf children

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of age, sex, etiology, and degree of hearing loss on the static and dynamic balance performance of hearing impaired children and youth (N = 132), ages 3 to 14 yr. The subjects were individually assessed on Items 2 and 7 of Subtest 2 of the Short Form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. As expected, performance on both tasks improved with chronological age. In comparing the performance of subjects by etiology, only one significant difference emerged; those with genetic deafness were superior on static balance to those whose deafness was idiopathic. However, the mean scores for the genetic group were superior for both balance tasks. The sex of the child as well as extent of hearing loss did not affect performance in either task.     

Different neuromuscular control mechanisms regulate static and dynamic balance: A center-of-pressure analysis in young adults

The analysis of the center of pressure (CoP) trajectory, derived from force platforms, is a widely accepted measure to investigate postural balance control. The CoP trajectory could be analyzed as a physiological time-series through a general stochastic modeling framework (i.e., Stabilogram Diffusion Analysis (SDA)). Critical point divides short-term from long-term regions and diffusion coefficients reflect the level of stochastic activity of the CoP. Sample Entropy (SampEn) allows quantifying the CoP complexity in terms of regularity. Thus, this study aimed to understand whether SDA and SampEn could discriminate the neuromuscular control mechanisms underpinning static and dynamic postural tasks. Static balance control and its relationship with dynamic balance control were investigated through the CoP velocity (Mean Velocity) and the area of the 95th percentile ellipse (Area95). Balance was assessed in 15 subjects (age: 23.13 ± 0.99 years; M = 9) over a force platform under two conditions: static (ST) and dynamic, both in anterior-posterior (DAP) and medio-lateral (DML) directions. During the DAP and DML, subjects stood on an unstable board positioned over a force platform. Short-term SDA diffusion coefficients and critical points were lower in ST than in DAP and DML (p < 0.05). SampEn values resulted greater in ST than in DAP and DML (p < 0.001). As expected, lower values of Area95 (p < 0.001) and Mean Velocity (p < 0.001) were detected in the easiest condition, the ST, compared to DAP and DML. No significant correlations between static and dynamic balance performances were detected. Moreover, differences in the diffusion coefficients were detected comparing DAP and DML (p < 0.05). In the anterior-posterior direction, the critical point occurred at relatively small intervals in DML compared to DAP (p < 0.001) and ST (p < 0.001). In the medio-lateral direction, the critical point differed only between DAP and DML (p < 0.05). Overall, SDA analysis pointed out a less tightly regulated neuromuscular control system in the dynamic tasks, with closed-loop corrective feedback mechanisms called into play at different time intervals in the three conditions. SampEn results reflected more attention and, thus, less automatic control mechanisms in the dynamic conditions, particularly in the medio-lateral task. The different neuromuscular control mechanisms that emerged in the static and dynamic balance tasks encourage using both static and dynamic tests for a more comprehensive balance performance assessment.     

Babies' logic activity: a differential study

From a neuroconstructivist point of view based on infant cognitive development, the aim of this study is to get to know and compare the logical organization and content of the spontaneous activity of babies with alternative developmental courses (typical babies and Down's Syndrome ones). A fundamental form of logic is observed since the beginning of babies' interaction with their environment. This protologic is constructed through their organised and significative activity with the environment and it results in the elaboration of logico-mathematical and physical knowledge. Using Systematic Observation, we recorded the spontaneous activity of n=20 babies, (n=10 typical babies, n=10 Down Syndrome babies), with a cognitive developmental level of 1; 3 years (15 months). Microgenetical and statistical analyses were applied and the results obtained showed a reduced logical content and organization of the activity of Down's Syndrome babies, which corroborates and amplifies the results of previous research works. These results make evident the need to plan early educational intervention in order to optimize babies' developmental resources.     

Balance,Proprioception, and Gross Motor Development of Chinese Children Aged 3 to 6 Years

The authors' aim was to find the features of balance, proprioception, and gross motor development of Chinese children 3–6 years old and their correlations, provide theoretical support for promoting children's motor development, and enrich the world theoretical system of motor development. This study used a Tekscan foot pressure measurement instrument (Tekscan, Inc., Boston, MA), walking on a balance beam, Xsens 3-dimensional positional measuring system (Xsens Technologies, Enschede, the Netherlands), and Test of Gross Motor Development-2 to assess static balance, dynamic balance, knee proprioception, and levels of gross motor development (GMD) of 3- to 6-year-old children (n = 60) in Beijing. The results are as follows: children had significant age differences in static balance, dynamic balance, proprioception, and levels of GMD; children had significant gender differences in static balance, proprioception, and levels of GMD; children's static balance, dynamic balance, and proprioception had a very significant positive correlation with GMD (p < .01), but no significant correlation with body mass index.     

Perceptual-motor contributions to static and dynamic balance control in children

The authors addressed balance control in children from the perspective of skill development and examined the relationship between specific perceptual and motor skills and static and dynamic balance performance. Fifty 11- to 13-year-old children performed a series of 1-legged balance tasks while standing on a force platform. Postural control was reflected in the maximum displacement of the center of mass in anterior-posterior and mediolateral directions. Simple visual, discrimination, and choice reaction times; sustained attention; visuomotor coordination; kinesthesis; and depth perception were also assessed in a series of perceptual and motor tests. The correlation analysis revealed that balancing under static conditions was strongly associated with the ability to perceive and process visual information, which is important for feedback-based control of balance. On the other hand, when greater task demands were imposed on the system under dynamic balancing conditions, the ability to respond to the destabilizing hip abductions-adductions in order to maintain equilibrium was associated with motor response speed, suggesting the use of a descending, feedforward control strategy. Therefore, like adults, 11- to 13-year-old children have the ability to select varying balance strategies (feedback, feedforward, or both), depending on the constraints of a particular task.     

Perceptual-Motor Contributions to Static and Dynamic Balance Control in Children

The authors addressed balance control in children from the perspective of skill development and examined the relationship between specific perceptual and motor skills and static and dynamic balance performance. Fifty 11- to 13-year-old children performed a series of 1-legged balance tasks while standing on a force platform. Postural control was reflected in the maximum displacement of the center of mass in anterior-posterior and mediolateral directions. Simple visual, discrimination, and choice reaction times; sustained attention; visuomotor coordination; kinesthesis; and depth perception were also assessed in a series of perceptual and motor tests. The correlation analysis revealed that balancing under static conditions was strongly associated with the ability to perceive and process visual information, which is important for feedback-based control of balance. On the other hand, when greater task demands were imposed on the system under dynamic balancing conditions, the ability to respond to the destabilizing hip abductions-adductions in order to maintain equilibrium was associated with motor response speed, suggesting the use of a descending, feedforward control strategy. Therefore, like adults, 11- to 13-year-old children have the ability to select varying balance strategies (feedback, feedforward, or both), depending on the constraints of a particular task.     

Dynamic locomotor imagery in athletes with severe visual impairments

Motor imagery is a mental process not accompanied by movement and widely studied in healthy subjects, related to hand movements in terms of timing. This study compared static and dynamic motor imagery analyzing temporal and spatial features in different locomotor conditions in three different groups of subjects: high-skilled athletes with visual impairments, a group of sighted unprofessional athletes and a control group of sighted subjects. We found that dynamic motor imagery resulted in timely closer to real performance than static motor imagery. The discrepancies between dynamic motor imagery and real condition, in fact, resulted limited to uncommon locomotion, such as lateral walking. Motor imagery resulted closer to real performance in terms of timing than in terms of step length, with the exception of athletes with visual impairments that, differently from the other groups, did not show any significant differences between the numbers of imagined and performed steps. It opens a new question about the relationship between temporal and spatial imagination of locomotion.     

An analysis of speech disfluencies in down''s syndrome and in normally intelligent subjects

Spontaneous speech samples were obtained from 19 institutionalized mongoloids and from 19 normally intelligent individuals. All subjects were evaluated by a panel of speech pathologists to be nonstutterers. Subjects' speech samples were analyzed to determine (a) frequency of occurance of seven disfluency categories per 100 words spoken, (b) the proportion of each category in the total number of disfluencies. Statistically significant differences indicated that the mongoloids were more disfluent both absolutely and relatively, on categories that have been regarded as most typical to speech of stutterers. Interpretations were made to reflect on factors which may enhance the high prevalence of stuttering among Down's Syndrome patients.     

Learning potential and anxious tendency: Test anxiety as a bias factor in educational testing

Abstract

Contrary to conventional educational testing, in so-called dynamic assessment subjects are allowed to consult help during testing or are offered prior training. The differential results of both testing procedures are sometimes ascribed to the idea that dynamic tests reflect the breadth of the zone of proximal development on top of independent achievement. Alternative explanations claim that conventional tests are more strongly biased towards various characteristics of persons, which have a negative influence on performance, when compared to dynamic tests. In this study, it was hypothesised that static as well as dynamic assessment is biased towards anxious tendencies of subjects, but the former more strongly than the latter. In order to investigate this supposition, the performance of subjects on dynamic and static tests was systematically compared and related to measures of test anxiety in a longitudinal experiment. In the experiment, repeated measures of independent mathematics achievement as well as mathematics learning potential were gathered among students of secondary education in the Netherlands. Prior to every mathematics test, subjects filled out a test anxiety questionnaire. After every mathematics test, subjects filled out a general state anxiety questionnaire. The participating subjects were students from secondary education, either preparing for higher vocational training or university, aged approximately 15 years on average.

The results of the experiment showed that lack of self-confidence is an important constituent factor of test anxiety, apart from worry and emotionality. The data supported the assumption that such testing procedures are less biased towards anxiety than conventional tests, but it was not established that dynamic testing procedures render results that are not biased by test anxious tendencies.     

Influence of age, sex, hearing loss, and balance on development of running by deaf children.

130 deaf boys and girls, ages 3 to 14 years, were tested on development of mature running form. The mature form in this skill was associated with chronological age and performance of static and dynamic balance. Sex and hearing loss do not appear to affect development of running.     

The construct of balance control in primary school-aged children: Unidimensional and task-specific

The aim of this study was to determine the dimensionality and task-specificity of balance control by investigating the relationships between different tasks and the degree to which these tasks belong to the same construct in primary school-aged children. Seventy-four South African children were randomly selected from a sample of convenience. They performed 18 different balance tasks that were grouped into four balance scales: the Performance and Fitness (PERF-FIT) static balance score, the PERF-FIT dynamic balance score, the PERF-FIT moving cans balance score and the Balance Sensory score. Spearman rank correlations were calculated between the scores. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the number of factors within the construct. Moderate to good correlations were found between: i) PERF-FIT Moving cans balance score and the Balance Sensory score (r = 0.605, p < 0.001); ii) PERF-FIT static balance score and the PERF-FIT Moving cans (r = 0.586, p < 0.001); iii) PERF-FIT static balance score and the Balance Sensory score (r = 0.541, p < 0.001). All other correlations were low to fair. The PCA revealed one component. The three PERF-FIT items (moving cans-, static- and dynamic balance score) and the Balance Sensory score explained 59.4% of the variance of total balance performance.     

Dynamic Visual Acuity

Forty subjects took part in a one-handed catching task in which the period for which the mechanically projected tennis ball was illuminated in flight was varied systematically. Additionally, they were tested for (a) static visual acuity and (b) dynamic visual acuity, in which angular velocity was varied. As expected, both viewing period in the catching task and angular velocity in the acuity task were significant variables in performance. Correlation and principal-components analyses confirmed the findings of a previous experiment in that the correlated static visual acuity tasks were unrelated to both dynamic visual acuity (even when angular velocity was only 75°/sec) and catching performance. Further, dynamic acuity and catching were related under the majority of the combinations, and most frequently at the highest angular velocity, a fact which suggested that the dynamic element in both tasks is the common factor.     

Dynamic and Static Balancing Ability of Preschool Children

Performance differences in dynamic and static balance ability of 150 preschool Ss aged 3,4, and 5 yr. were studied. Ss performed 4 balance-beam tasks and 2 balance-board tasks. An Age by Sex (3 × 2) factorial, design employing both univariate and multivariate ANOVA techniques were the statistics used. For both dynamic and static balance Age was highly significant, and the use of multivariate ANOVA indicated significant sex differences on the static balance tasks. The appropriateness of multivariate techniques where more than one dependent variable is measured on the same population was discussed, and the need to take into account the relationship between these variables when analyzing the data was noted.     

Mental rotation of static and dynamic figures

Previous studies comparing performance on standard (i.e., static) and dynamic spatial test items have concluded that the two item types measure different abilities. Such conclusions about the uniqueness of static and dynamic spatial abilities seem premature, however, since only a limited number of dynamic spatial tasks have been utilized in research and these have differed markedly from their static counterparts. In the present studies, tasks were designed to require a common mental operation (mental rotation) under static and dynamic conditions. Correlations between static and dynamic performance ranged from .80 to .90. This appears to suggest that the emergence of a unique dynamic ability factor depends on the utilization of certain specialized tasks (e.g., arrival time tasks) with mental operations much different than those required by conventional spatial tests. In other words, it is apparently the requirement for different cognitive processes and not the processing of stimulus motion per se that distinguishes performance onsome dynamic tasks from performance on some standard static tasks.     

Balance effects of tactile stimulation at the foot

Balance relies on several types of sensory information, including somatosensory senses such as touch and position sense (proprioception). As these senses decline in older adults, there is a question of whether shoes limit somatosensory feedback from the floor. Textured insoles are designed to stimulate the soles of the feet to enhance tactile feedback. Textured insoles have shown balance benefits in some populations, but it is unclear if such tactile stimulation improves a person's balance even in cushioned athletic shoes, which dampen proprioceptive signals. Here we ask whether tactile vs. proprioceptive cues contribute differently to balance control in the healthy somatosensory system. We assessed balance in 20 healthy young adults under four footwear conditions: cushioned shoes with regular insoles, cushioned shoes with textured insoles, barefoot, and minimalist shoes. Each condition was evaluated using the Y-Balance Test (YBT) and the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS), validated tests of dynamic and static balance, respectively. YBT is a dynamic reaching test performed on one leg. The BESS includes various stance conditions with eyes closed. The results showed that footwear influenced dynamic balance only, with textured insoles leading to significantly better performance than barefoot and minimalist shoes did in the YBT. These results suggest that at least for dynamic balance, balance benefits of tactile stimulation from the textured insoles offset any dampening of proprioception caused by the athletic shoes' cushioning. Future research on how these conditions compare in older adults may lead to improved footwear recommendations to reduce fall risk and injuries for that population.     

Effect of dual tasking on a dynamic balance task in children with and without DCD

The purpose of this study was to compare performance of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and typically developing (TD) children in a dual task paradigm with a dynamic balance task on the Wii Fit as primary task and a concurrent cognitive (counting) or a concurrent bimanual fine motor task as secondary tasks.Using a cross-sectional design, 25 children with DCD and 38 TD children were assessed with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (MABC-2) and Divided Attention (DA) task of the KiTAP. Next, the single- and dual-tasks were performed and the level of interference or facilitation of the dual tasks was calculated. Regression analysis determined the predictive value of the DA and MABC-2 component balance outcomes on the dual task performance. On the motor and attentional tasks, the group of children with DCD scored significantly below the level of the TD children. The dual task effect showed similar interference and facilitation of tasks in the different dual-task conditions in both groups.In the dual task-cognitive condition, the divided attention abilities and the MABC-2 balance score predicted 25% of the Wii Fit dynamic balance task performance, whereas in the dual task-motor condition this was higher (31.6%). In both conditions, DA was a stronger predictor than MABC balance score and appears to be an important factor to consider when developing motor task training for children with DCD.     

Dynamic visual acuity: a possible factor in catching performance

Forty subjects took part in a one-handed catching ask in which the period for which the mechanically projected tennis ball was illuminated in flight was varied systematically. Additionally, they were tested for (a) static visual acuity and (b) dynamic visual acuity, in which angular velocity was varied. As expected, both viewing period in the catching task and angular velocity in the acuity task were significant variables in performance. Correlation and principal-components analyses confirmed the findings of a previous experiment in that the correlated static visual acuity tasks were unrelated to both dynamic visual acuity (even when angular velocity was only 75 degrees /sec) and catching performance. Further, dynamic acuity and catching were related under the majority of the combinations, and most frequently at the highest angular velocity, a fact which suggested that the dynamic element in both tasks is the common factor.     

Is There a Correlation Between Static and Dynamic Postural Balance Among Young Male and Female Dancers?

Aimed to investigate whether young male and female dancers have different patterns of association between static and dynamic postural balance (PB), 60 dancers from the Australian Ballet School (14–19 years old) were tested for static and dynamic PB with head and lumbar accelerometers. Monotonic relationships between static and dynamic PB were found in head movements among young female dancers in all three directions, but were found for young male dancers in the mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) directions only. In lumbar movements, monotonic relationships were found for young female dancers in the AP direction only. Comparing head with lumbar movements in static PB, young male dancers demonstrated monotonic relationships between head and lumbar movements in all 3 directions; however, young female dancers demonstrated monotonic relationships in the AP direction only. In the dynamic measurements, both male and female dancers demonstrated monotonic relationships between head and lumbar movements for all parameters measured in the ML and vertical directions (p < .05). In conclusions, among female dancers static PB ability is correlated with their dynamic ability, whereas among male dancers, no relationship between the static and dynamic PB in the AP direction exists. Male dancers showed head and lumbar coordination in the static PB movement, but both genders manifested no head and lumbar coordination in the AP direction measured for dynamic PB.     

Test settings and the sensorimotor performance of infants with Down's syndrome

The effects of test setting (home vs classroom) on the sensorimotor performance of 7 Down's syndrome infants were examined. The 7 Uzgiris-Hunt scales were administered on 10 occasions over a 4-mo. period, yielding 5 home-classroom comparisons for each subject. Analyses of mean performance scores, intersetting test-retest reliability, and intrasetting stability indicated that test performance was minimally affected by test setting, but that intrasetting interindividual invariance in performance was less stable when the subjects were tested in a classroom environment.     

Developmental coordination impairments in adulthood

The aim of this study was to extend the understanding of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) into adulthood. We recruited 19 adults aged between 18 and 65 who had received diagnoses of DCD or dyspraxia or who self-reported as having motor impairments consistent with a history of DCD, together with age- and gender-matched controls. Participants were given tests of manual dexterity, handwriting, construction, obstacle avoidance, dynamic balance, static balance, dual task performance, ball skills, reaction time, movement time and sequencing. As a group, adults with DCD performed more poorly than controls across all tasks. Slowness and variability of movement was a pervasive feature of their performance and many individuals had considerable problems with sequencing and with dual task performance. A discriminant function analysis conducted using six performance measures correctly classified participants as car drivers or non-drivers. Adults do retain motor difficulties and these can exclude them from important activities of daily living.