The confusing role of visual motion detection acuity in postural stability in young and older adults

IF 2.2 3区医学 Q3 NEUROSCIENCES

Gait & posture Pub Date : 2025-02-27 DOI:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2025.02.027

Pierre Cabaraux , Scott Mongold , Christian Georgiev , Esranur Yildiran Carlak , Johanne Garbusinski , Gilles Naeije , Marc Vander Ghinst , Mathieu Bourguignon

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Vision is commonly reported to play a crucial role in postural control and even more so in advancing age. Among its functions, visual motion perception provides the brain with information about self-motion and the motion of the surrounding environment.

Objectives

To clarify the nature of the relationship between visual motion acuity and postural control and its modulation with age.

Methods

66 healthy participants took part in the study. They were divided into two groups: a younger group of 32 participants (15 females) with a mean age of 25.5 years (SD = 2.9), and 34 healthy older participants (18 females; 72.1 ± 6.0 years). Participants completed a visual motion detection test (VMDT) that assessed the minimal speed of Gabor patch that could be detected. Following, participants stood on a force plate in 4 conditions, either with eyes open or closed and standing on either a hard surface or foam. Their stability was assessed by the mean velocity of their center of pressure.

Results

Younger participants exhibited better visual motion acuity (p = 0.0097) and better postural performance across all conditions (p < 0.0001), and were less affected by the increase in task complexity compared to older participants. Furthermore, a linear mixed-effects model revealed a significant influence of visual motion acuity on postural performance (p = 0.032). This association was modulated by the condition (p = 0.047), and showed a trend of modulation by the age group (p = 0.066). Pearson's analysis revealed a positive association between visual motion acuity and postural stability in young but not in older individuals in all conditions.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that visual motion acuity, assessed using VMDT, is linked to stability even with eyes closed. This connection could be explained by light transmission through the eyelids or by the presence of a confounding variable such as visuo-spatial attention, which is known to decrease with aging.

查看原文本刊更多论文

视觉运动检测敏锐度在年轻人和老年人姿势稳定性中的混淆作用

背景视觉通常被报道在姿势控制中起着至关重要的作用，在老年人中更是如此。在其功能中，视觉运动感知为大脑提供有关自身运动和周围环境运动的信息。目的探讨视动敏锐度与体位控制的关系及其随年龄的变化规律。方法选取66名健康受试者进行研究。他们被分为两组：一组是32名参与者（15名女性），平均年龄25.5岁（SD = 2.9），另一组是34名健康的老年参与者(18名女性； 72.1±6.0年 )。参与者完成了视觉运动检测测试（VMDT），评估可以检测到的Gabor贴片的最小速度。接下来，参与者在四种情况下站在一个测力板上，要么睁着眼睛，要么闭着眼睛，要么站在坚硬的表面上，要么站在泡沫上。它们的稳定性是通过它们的压力中心的平均速度来评估的。结果年轻参与者在所有条件下表现出更好的视觉运动敏度（p = 0.0097）和更好的姿势表现（p <； 0.0001），并且受任务复杂性增加的影响较小。此外，线性混合效应模型显示视觉运动敏锐度对体位表现有显著影响（p = 0.032）。这种关联被条件调节（p = 0.047），并显示出被年龄组调节的趋势（p = 0.066）。皮尔逊的分析显示，在所有条件下，年轻人的视觉运动敏锐度和姿势稳定性之间存在正相关关系，而老年人则没有。结论：我们的研究结果表明，使用VMDT评估的视觉运动敏锐度与闭上眼睛的稳定性有关。这种联系可以通过光线通过眼睑的传输来解释，也可以通过一个混淆变量的存在来解释，比如视觉空间注意力，众所周知，随着年龄的增长，视觉空间注意力会减少。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Gait & posture 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

12.50%

发文量

616

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Gait & Posture is a vehicle for the publication of up-to-date basic and clinical research on all aspects of locomotion and balance. The topics covered include: Techniques for the measurement of gait and posture, and the standardization of results presentation; Studies of normal and pathological gait; Treatment of gait and postural abnormalities; Biomechanical and theoretical approaches to gait and posture; Mathematical models of joint and muscle mechanics; Neurological and musculoskeletal function in gait and posture; The evolution of upright posture and bipedal locomotion; Adaptations of carrying loads, walking on uneven surfaces, climbing stairs etc; spinal biomechanics only if they are directly related to gait and/or posture and are of general interest to our readers; The effect of aging and development on gait and posture; Psychological and cultural aspects of gait; Patient education.