ABSTRACT
Learning to walk implies the sensory integration of visual, vestibular, proprioceptive, and cutaneous information about the environment and the position of the body in space. This sensory integration occurs within a stable reference frame on which movement control is based. This chapter focuses on the organization of head movements in the sagittal plane during the first year of independent walking (IW). The small pitch rotation of the head compensates for head vertical translation in order to hold images relatively stable on the retina. This head movement strategy could then facilitate visual perception and integration of visual information for the control of locomotion. The development of locomotor ability, which occurs during the first 3-4 months of IW, could allow the developmental shift in head movement organization toward a better gaze stabilization and, consequently, better use of visual information by children. This refinement in the use of visual information could then be used for a more refined control of locomotion.
