It has long been suggested that sound plays a role in the postural control process. Few studies however have explored sound and posture interactions. The present paper focuses on the specific impact of audition on posture, seeking to determine the attributes of sound that may be useful for postural purposes. We investigated the postural sway of young, healthy blindfolded subjects in two experiments involving different static auditory environments. In the first experiment, we compared effect on sway in a simple environment built from three static sound sources in two different rooms: a normal vs. an anechoic room. In the second experiment, the same auditory environment was enriched in various ways, including the ambisonics synthesis of a immersive environment, and subjects stood on two different surfaces: a foam vs. a normal surface. The results of both experiments suggest that the spatial cues provided by sound can be used to improve postural stability. The richer the auditory environment, the better this stabilization. We interpret these results by invoking the “spatial hearing map” theory: listeners build their own mental representation of their surrounding environment, which provides them with spatial landmarks that help them to better stabilize.

Postural control is known to be the result of the integration and processing of various sensory inputs by the central nervous system. Among the various afferent inputs, the role of auditory information in postural regulation has been addressed in relatively few studies, which led to conflicting results. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of a rotating auditory stimulus, delivered by an immersive 3D sound spatialization system, on the standing posture of young subjects. The postural sway of 20 upright, blindfolded subjects was recorded using a force platform. Use of various sound source rotation velocities followed by sudden immobilization of the sound was compared with two control conditions: no sound and a stationary sound source. The experiment showed that subjects reduced their body sway amplitude and velocity in the presence of rotating sound compared with the control conditions. The faster the sound source was rotating, the greater the reduction in subject body sway. Moreover, disruption of subject postural regulation was observed as soon as the sound source was immobilized. These results suggest that auditory information cannot be neglected in postural control and that it acts as additional information influencing postural regulation.

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