Anticipatory postural control in children

Postural responses, triggered by sensory feedback, are present very early in a child's development. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the ability of children to anticipate postural disturbances caused by self-initiated movements and their ability to coordinate anticipatory postural adjustments with movement execution. Children (N = 32) aged 4 to 14 years were asked to stand quietly on a stable force plate and to raise their right arm forward (or backward) to the horizontal position after a visual stimulus. Changes in the center of pressure beneath the feet were recorded before and during the arm raise. The anticipatory (feedforward) postural patterns seen before the arm movement, and noted in a previous study of adults, were present in the youngest of the children (4 years, 2 months). Longer reaction times and inconsistent postural responses (in the anteroposterior direction) suggest that children are less capable than adults of coordinating the anticipated postural adjustment with the forthcoming limb movement, however. In the lateral plane, anticipatory postural responses were initiated more consistently.