Sensory Components of Motor and Postural Control

Question 1

TACTILE

Answer 1

Purpose:
Protection 
Discrimination
Identity establishment
Parent-infant attachment

By 7.5 weeks gestation:
Perioral area

By 11 weeks gestation:
Sensory nerve endings

By 26 weeks gestation:
Primitive tactile reflexes

Question 2

VESTIBULAR

Answer 2

Purpose
Mobility & stability
Achieve/maintain stable postures against gravity

By Week 21 gestation:
Functional
Myelinated at birth
Early movement

Question 3

OLFACTORY

Answer 3

Purpose
Protection
Recognition
Gastro-intestinal functions
Elicit adaptive behaviors

By 29 weeks gestation:
Discrimination
Functional system at birth

Question 4

AUDITORY

Answer 4

Purpose
Attention
Protection 
Learning
Communication

24 - 28 weeks gestation:
Myelinated 1 month after birth
Head turning to localized sound by 3 months

Preterm:
Very sensitive
Inability to habituate
Overstimulation – HR & RR changes

Question 5

auditory and vestibular concerns

Answer 5

Chronic ear infections
Delayed development of language
Dynamic balance problems
Delays in gross motor development

Question 6

VISUAL

Answer 6

28 weeks gestation:
Eyes open

36 weeks gestation:
Awake visual alertness

4 months:
Color Vision

Newborns:
Pattern preference
↑ attention to faces

Visual acuity:
↑ in first year
Rapid ↑ in first few months

Adult binocular vision:
2 years of age

Question 7

GUSTATORY

Answer 7

Purpose:
Nutrition
Encourage exploration
Facilitate developmental skills
--Hand-to-mouth, feeding, midline play 

Functional system at birth

Question 8

PROPRIOCEPTION

Answer 8

Purpose
Foundation for volitional movements
Imitation 
Reaching
Locomotion

Achieve & maintain upright posture

Used very early after birth

Question 9

sensation, perception, and movement

Answer 9

Self-produced movement in children impact:

• Perception
• Sensation
• Cognition
• Emotion
• Social Skills

Question 10

types of postural control

Answer 10

Static

Reactive

Anticipatory

Adaptive

Question 11

components of postural control

Answer 11

Limits of stability
Sensory organization
Eye-head stabilization
Musculoskeletal system
Motor coordination
Predictive central set
Environmental adaptation

Question 12

LIMITS OF STABILITY

Answer 12

Boundaries to sway without changing BOS

Center of mass
Birth: xiphoid process
Adult: iliac crest (S2-3)

Cone of stability

Question 13

SENSORY ORGANIZATION

Answer 13

Visual system
Dominates until ~6 y.o.

Somatosensory system
Proprioception, joint position/movement, tactile
Dominates after ~7 y.o.

Vestibular system
Resolve conflicting information
Develop ~ 7 y.o.

Question 14

EYE-HEAD STABILIZATION

Answer 14

Visual and labyrinthine
Movement of the surroundings and the head
–Respective to each other

Question 15

MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM

Answer 15

Biomechanical constraints to postural control

• Strength and ROM
• Viscoelastic properties
• -Joint degrees of freedom
• Body size/proportions affect center of mass

Question 16

MOTOR COORDINATION

Answer 16

Ability to coordinate muscle activation in a sequence that preserves posture

Muscle synergies in postural reactions

Dependent on environment and task

Adequate strength & muscle tone

Timing and spatial sequencing

Question 17

PREDICTIVE CENTRAL SET

Answer 17

Central “Preprogramming”

Postural readiness

• -To keep postural disturbances to a minimum
• -To prepare for movement
• -To add force or velocity

Question 18

POSTURAL ADJUSTMENTS

Answer 18

Anticipatory responses

• Depend on feed-forward control
• Changed through learning & experience

Question 19

ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION

Answer 19

Perceived needs

-Changes in postural responses