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Effects of Vision on Postural Control in Neurologically Healthy Individuals

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Locomotion and Posture in Older Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter was to characterize how the postural system of healthy individuals is capable of adaption when facing distinct levels of challenge, all planned to vary the visual context involved. A series of postural studies showed a variety of circumstances in which the postural control system faced both stronger, mechanical, and subtle, sensorial perturbations. Effects of vision were tested in tasks such as moving line-of-gaze in space (during saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movements), grasping an object (under different optic flow conditions), three-ball juggling (under narrow and wide stances), performing a ballet skill (with eyes opened and blindfolded), and driving a car (under simulated conditions); additionally, effects of aging on posture are discussed. In summary, authors suggest that considering the multiple levels of the visual system functioning (eyes, head, trunk, and whole body movements) along with lifespan postural changes is essential to advance our knowledge of the process of acquisition and use of visual information to stabilize posture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Education, Laboratory of Information, Vision, and Action (LIVIA), Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Campus Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil

    Sérgio Tosi Rodrigues & Gisele Chiozi Gotardi

  2. Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

    Stefane Aline Aguiar

  3. Institute of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil

    Stefane Aline Aguiar

Authors
  1. Sérgio Tosi Rodrigues
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  2. Gisele Chiozi Gotardi
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  3. Stefane Aline Aguiar
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Correspondence to Sérgio Tosi Rodrigues .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Department of Physical Education, Human Movement Research Laboratory – MOVI-LAB, Campus Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil

    Fabio Augusto Barbieri

  2. Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Department of Physical Education, Posture and Gait Studies Lab (LEPLO), Campus Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil

    Rodrigo Vitório

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Rodrigues, S.T., Gotardi, G.C., Aguiar, S.A. (2017). Effects of Vision on Postural Control in Neurologically Healthy Individuals. In: Barbieri, F., Vitório, R. (eds) Locomotion and Posture in Older Adults. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48980-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48980-3_15

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