The Role of Multisensory Integration in Postural Stability Regulation among 5- to 7-Year-Old Children

Abstract While postural control in preschool children relies on visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular inputs, the hierarchical contribution of multisensory integration — particularly the role of tactile feedback — remains undercharacterised. Few studies have systematically mapped the developmental trajectory of sensory weighting strategies in early childhood. We randomly selected 128 preschool children from a kindergarten in Suzhou in June 2025. Sensors measured the angular velocity modulus ( ω ) of the body centre of mass shaking under eight conditions. Paired-samples t -test and one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance were used to analyze differences in ω across sensory integrations. The ω of vestibular integration with proprioception was smaller than with visual or tactile senses ( ). The ω of vestibular integration with visual–proprioception was smaller than that with proprioception–tactile senses or visual–tactile senses ( ). The ω significantly decreased ( ) when proprioception was integrated with all sensory conditions and under vestibular integration with visual, vestibular–tactile, and vestibular–proprioceptive inputs. No significant changes ( ) occurred under vestibular–tactile–proprioception integration with visual. The ω significantly decreased ( ) under vestibular–tactile integration. Proprioceptive integration consistently reduced postural sway, with vestibular–proprioceptive coupling demonstrating the strongest stabilizing effect, followed by visual integration. Tactile input only enhanced stability in the absence of visual and proprioceptive cues, highlighting its compensatory role in sensory-deprived developmental contexts.