Individual variability in postural control and sensorimotor integration: mechanisms, adaptation, and applications

Postural control and motor learning are fundamental to human movement, enabling individuals to maintain balance and adapt to dynamic environmental and task demands. While these processes have been extensively studied, a critical yet underexplored issue is the substantial inter-individual variability in how postural behavior is organized and how motor skills are acquired. Rather than being treated as noise, such variability may reflect meaningful differences in underlying control strategies and adaptive processes.Emerging evidence indicates that individuals differ in how they integrate sensory information, allocate cognitive resources, and coordinate neuromuscular outputs, leading to diverse solutions to the same postural or motor task. These differences become particularly evident under challenging conditions, such as dual-tasking, sensory perturbations, and during aging or neurorehabilitation, where variability plays a key role in shaping performance and adaptability.This Research Topic aims to advance a mechanistic understanding of individual variability in postural control and sensorimotor integration by bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives. We particularly encourage contributions that move beyond average group effects to examine how and why individuals differ, including studies on sensory integration, adaptive control, and context-dependent motor behavior.We welcome original research articles, reviews, and methodological contributions that investigate neural, biomechanical, cognitive, and behavioral determinants of variability in movement control. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, sensory integration in balance control, dual-task effects on postural stability, mechanisms of motor adaptation and learning, variability across the lifespan, and applications to rehabilitation, sports performance, and fall prevention.By integrating insights from neuroscience, biomechanics, rehabilitation science, and motor behavior, this collection aims to shift the focus from “average behavior” to individual-specific movement strategies, ultimately contributing to the development of personalized, mechanism-based approaches to motor learning and postural rehabilitation. Topic editors: Tadayoshi Asaka, Thurmon E Lockhart, Naoya Hasegawa Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80700/individual-variability-in-postural-control-and-sensorimotor-integration-mechanisms-adaptation-and-applications