The Role of Perturbed Auditory Information for Self-motion in Gait

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

When people interact with objects such as opening a door, their movements make sounds that are associated with the success of the action. Similarly, when people walk their footsteps make sounds that are audible. It is possible that these sounds are used as feedback to stabilize and adapt movement. There is some evidence for such a connection between the auditory and motor systems in activities of daily living, yet the empirical work is insufficient and indirect. The objective of the project is to address this gap by investigating the functional connection between gait dynamics and stepping sounds. In each of the three proposed studies, the delay and amplitude of self-produced footstep sounds will be manipulated while young healthy adults are performing a self-paced treadmill walking task. To this end, a gait real-time analysis interactive lab will be programmed. The apparatus consists of an instrumented treadmill and virtual reality sound projection capability. The overall hypothesis is that walking cadence will change proportionally to the magnitude and sign of the manipulation of footstep sounds. Furthermore, the statistical persistence of inter-step intervals will decrease as a function of feedback alteration. Next to these motor responses, the proposed project will investigate associated cortical responses by using mobile brain imaging. One study will use fNIRS to focus on measures associated with attentional demand. A second study will use a combination of mobile EEG and EMG to investigate cortico-spinal synchronization. The third study will evaluate whether repetitive sessions of so-called stealth walking hold potential for improving gait dynamics and variability. The study will involve five visits to the lab. Participants’ task will be to step so as to minimize the otherwise augmented feedback from the their footstep sounds. Change in gait parameters from pre- to post-training will be compared to a control group.