Changes in the Temporal Relationship Between Visual Information and Center of Pressure Displacements in Preterm Children: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Importance Premature children, even those without overt motor delays, may exhibit subtle impairments in sensory integration and visuomotor coordination. Objective The objective was to investigate the relationship between visual information and postural sway in preterm children at school age, under varying frequencies of visual stimulus provided by a moving room. Design This was a comparative cross-sectional study. Setting Children were assessed individually inside a “moving room” while standing on a force plate. Participants Thirty-four children, aged 7.06 (0.75) years, were matched by age, gender, weight, and height. Seventeen were preterm (gestational age = 30.24 [3.56] weeks; birth weight = 1571 [568] g; 11 boys), and seventeen were full-term (gestational age = 39 [0.71] weeks; birth weight = 3250 [460] g; 11 boys). Intervention(s) or Exposure(s) Children stood upright on a force plate inside the moving room, which oscillated in the anteroposterior direction at 2 frequencies (0.2 Hz and 0.5 Hz) with a constant peak velocity of 0.75 cm/s. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s) Measures of coupling between visual information and center of pressure (COP) displacements, including gain, phase and position variability, were calculated. Additionally, the magnitude of COP displacement was calculated across different visual conditions. Results Only preterm children showed a lower variability and a greater phase lag between visual information and COP displacements at 0.5 Hz compared to 0.2 Hz, relative to full-term children. COP mean amplitude was similar between groups across all conditions. Conclusions Although COP displacements in preterm children were influenced by visual information similarly to full-term peers, their reduced variability and delayed postural responses at higher visual stimulus frequencies may indicate subtle alterations in visuomotor coupling. Relevance This pattern may compromise adequate sensorimotor tuning and reduce postural adaptation to challenging and dynamic visual environments.