Recent Findings on Sound and Posture: A Position Paper

Abstract

Although neglected for a long time, the field of sound and posture seems to have aroused increasing interest over the last few years. In the present position paper, we present an overview of our recent findings in this field and we put them in perspective with the literature. We bring evidence to support the view that spatial cues provided by auditory information can be integrated by humans to improve their postural control. Then, two complementary trails are proposed to explain these postural effects: on the one hand, sound can be used to build a spatial mental map of the surrounding space, helping subjects to better stabilize. On the other hand, our findings suggest that some multisensory interactions occur, in which sound can facilitate the integration of the other modalities involved in the postural control.