Postural control depends on early visual experience

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of early visual experience in the development of postural control (balance) and locomotion (gait). In a cross-sectional design, balance and gait were assessed in 59 participants (ages 7-43 years) with a history of (a) transient congenital blindness, (b) transient late-onset blindness, (c) permanent congenitally blindness, or (d) permanent late-onset blindness, as well as in normally sighted controls. Cataract-reversal participants who experienced a transient phase of blindness and gained sight through cataract removal surgery showed worse balance performance compared with sighted controls even when tested with eyes closed. Individuals with reversed congenital cataracts performed worse than individuals with reversed developmental (late emerging) cataracts. Balance performance in congenitally cataract-reversal participants when tested with eyes closed was not significantly different from that in permanently blind participants. In contrast, their gait parameters did not differ significantly from those of sighted controls. The present findings highlight both the need for visual calibration of proprioceptive and vestibular systems and the crossmodal adaptability of locomotor functions.