PERIPHERAL-VISION AND AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN DYNAMIC BALANCE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of peripheral visual cues in locomotor equilibrium as a function of age in 3- to 12-year-old children and adults. Peripheral visual restrictions (PVR), limiting frontal vision to either 30, 60 or 120 degrees, were applied to subjects walking on a narrow beam. The subjects' locomotor equilibrium performances were evaluated in terms of the locomotor speed. which constitutes a good index to the difficulty of locomotor balancing. The results showed that the influence of peripheral visual cues on locomotor equilibrium control did not vary monotonously with age. The peripheral visual contribution to dynamic balance control increased from 3 to 6 years of age, with a maximum in 6-year-old children. The peripheral visual influence on locomotor equilibrium control then disappeared suddenly in the 7-year-old children. It tended to increase again from 8-9 years of age to adulthood. In adults, the peripheral visual contribution to locomotor equilibrium that we have described previously was confirmed and compared to that involved in postural control. It is concluded from these results that late improvements occur in locomotor balance control during childhood.