REDUCED VISUAL INPUT AFFECTS GAIT CHARACTERISTICS DURING TREADMILL WALKING IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
Conference: 2011ASB
Abstract: Vision is one of the most important sensory systems in controlling locomotion [1]. Humans rely on visual information from the environment to mediate the foot-placement during walking [1,2]. It has been shown that temporal and spatial features of gait are altered by reducing visual input [3], resulting in an increase of falls. Furthermore, the reduction of lighting was recognized as a contributing factor in falls incidence [4]. However, no research has been conducted to examine the impact of the reduction of visual input on treadmill walking. This is of great interest in gait research since treadmill walking provides a means to study multiple continuous strides.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of reduction of visual input on treadmill walking and identify how such decreased visual input interacts with the effect of a simultaneous exposure to a VR environment.The results support our hypothesis in terms of the altered step length but not step width in a dynamic VR environment. In addition, the results of this study suggest that the amount of visual input could influence control during treadmill walking. Such influence is more pronounced when the subject walks on a treadmill in a dynamic VR environment. Overall, the present study provides evidence that vision plays an essential role during not only level walking, but also treadmill walking.
Listed In: Gait,
Tagged In: gait, treadmill, VR
This poster was submitted for a scholarship
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Abstract: Vision is one of the most important sensory systems in controlling locomotion [1]. Humans rely on visual information from the environment to mediate the foot-placement during walking [1,2]. It has been shown that temporal and spatial features of gait are altered by reducing visual input [3], resulting in an increase of falls. Furthermore, the reduction of lighting was recognized as a contributing factor in falls incidence [4]. However, no research has been conducted to examine the impact of the reduction of visual input on treadmill walking. This is of great interest in gait research since treadmill walking provides a means to study multiple continuous strides.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of reduction of visual input on treadmill walking and identify how such decreased visual input interacts with the effect of a simultaneous exposure to a VR environment.The results support our hypothesis in terms of the altered step length but not step width in a dynamic VR environment. In addition, the results of this study suggest that the amount of visual input could influence control during treadmill walking. Such influence is more pronounced when the subject walks on a treadmill in a dynamic VR environment. Overall, the present study provides evidence that vision plays an essential role during not only level walking, but also treadmill walking.
Listed In: Gait,
Tagged In: gait, treadmill, VR
This poster was submitted for a scholarship
View PDF | View Poster Text | Contact Author