Postural response to predictable and nonpredictable visual flow in children and adults

•Posture was examined in response to predictable and non-predictable visual flow.•Children and adults responded to low frequency predictable flow.•Only children responded to high frequency predictable flow.•Children and adults responded to multiple frequencies in non-predictable flow.•Adults respond posturally to high flow, but not in a frequency specific fashion.

Children's (3-5 years) and adults' postural reactions to different conditions of visual flow information varying in its frequency content was examined using a moving room apparatus. Both groups experienced four conditions of visual input: low-frequency (0.20 Hz) visual oscillations, high-frequency (0.60 Hz) oscillations, multifrequency nonpredictable visual input, and no imposed visual information. Analyses of the frequency content of anterior-posterior (AP) sway revealed that postural reactions to the single-frequency conditions replicated previous findings; children were responsive to low- and high-frequency oscillations, whereas adults were responsive to low-frequency information. Extending previous work, AP sway in response to the nonpredictable condition revealed that both groups were responsive to the different components contained in the multifrequency visual information, although adults retained their frequency selectivity to low-frequency versus high-frequency content. These findings are discussed in relation to work examining feedback versus feedforward control of posture, and the reweighting of sensory inputs for postural control, as a function of development and task context.