Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of horizontal and vertical saccadic eye movements on postural control of young and older adults during the maintenance of upright stance in different bases of support. Fifteen young adults and fifteen elderly were asked to stand upright on a force platform in both bipodal and semi tandem bases of support, performing two visual tasks, fixation and horizontal and vertical saccadic eye movements. Center of Pressure (CoP) in the anterior/posterior (AP) and medial/lateral (ML) directions of movement were measured throughout trials. The results showed AP median sway frequency and magnitude of displacement of CoP decreased during saccadic eye movements than during gaze fixation, only to young adults. Furthermore, elderly showed higher ML median sway frequency and mean velocity of displacement of CoP than young adults during semi tandem basis of support. There was no effect of direction of saccadic eye movements (horizontal and vertical) in young and old adults. The results suggest that older adults were not able to perform necessary postural adjustments during visual tasks involving the saccadic eye movements, increasing postural instability as compared to young adults.
Translated title of the contribution | Effect of horizontal and vertical saccadic eye movements on postural control of young adults and aged in different support basis |
---|---|
Original language | Portuguese |
Pages (from-to) | 759-766 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Brazilian Journal of Physical Education and Sport |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 23 Dec 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- saccadic eye movements
- fixation
- postural control
- elderly
- bases of support