If a whole-body reaching task is produced when standing or adopting challenging postures, it is unclear whether changes in attentional demands or the sensorimotor integration necessary for balance control influence the interaction between visuomotor and postural components of the movement. Is gaze control prioritized by the CNS to produce coordinated eye movements with the head and whole-body regardless of movement context? Considering the coupled nature of visuomotor and whole-body postural control during action, this study aimed to understand how changing equilibrium constraints (in the form of different postural configurations) influenced the initiation of eye, head and arm movements. We quantified the eye-head metrics and segmental kinematics as participants executed either isolated gaze shifts or whole-body reaching movements to visual targets. In total, four postural configurations were compared: seated, natural stance, with the feet together (narrow stance), or while balancing on a wooden beam. Contrary to our initial predictions, the lack of distinct changes in: eye-head metrics, timing of eye, head and arm movement initiation, and gaze accuracy, in spite of kinematic differences, suggests that the CNS integrates postural constraints into the control necessary to initiate gaze shifts. This may be achieved by adopting a whole-body gaze strategy that allows for the successful completion of both gaze and reaching goals
