Personal and environmental factors underlying locomotor navigation

当我们四处走动时，我们必须控制不同方向的许多片段。与此同时，我们必须面对不同的环境因素，这些因素可以在身体和精神上挑战我们。该研究项目致力于理解人类行走时导航控制的组织、多功能性和局限性。在这里获得的基本知识在与人工运动（例如机器人），生物工程（肌肉骨骼增强），空间增强（建筑和地理信息）和康复相关的领域具有深远的应用。本研究将集中研究a)协调下肢在不同方向同时推进和平衡的方法，b)视觉和内耳（前庭）信息在不同导航情况下的相互作用。这些因素将在现实生活中发现的环境背景下进行研究，这些环境背景施加了物理（障碍）和认知（注意力资源的竞争）约束。除了研究健康的成年人口外，还将研究有视力问题的人和早产的青春期前儿童（与足月出生的儿童相比）。身体运动的三维测量及其各部分的协调将在所有项目中进行研究。视觉因素可以从头部稳定性推断出来，也可以直接从眼球运动中测量出来。前庭系统的贡献将通过通过低电流电刺激干扰从该系统流出的信息来研究。总的来说，这个研究项目结合了探索行走控制背后的机械和感官因素的技术，以便更好地了解我们如何在环境中导航。

As we walk around, we must control many segments in different directions. At the same time, we must different environmental factors that can challenge us both physically and mentally. This research program is dedicated to understanding the organisation, versatility and limitations of the control of human navigation during walking. The basic knowledge gained here has far reaching applications across areas related to artificial locomotion (e.g., robotics), bioengineering (musculo-skeletal enhancement), spatial enhancement (architecture and geomatics) and rehabilitation. The present proposal will concentrate on the study of a) the means of coordinating the lower limbs for propulsion and equilibrium in different directions simultaneously and b) the interaction of visual and inner ear (vestibular) information during different situations of navigation. These factors will be studied within environmental contexts found in real life situations imposing both physical (obstructions) and cognitive (competition of attentional resources) constraints. In addition to studying healthy adult populations, persons with visual problems and pre-adolescent children born pre-term (as compared to those born at term) will be studied. Three-dimensional measurements of body movement and the coordination of its segments will be investigated in all projects. Visual factors will be inferred from head stabilization as well as measured directly from eye movements. Contributions from the vestibular system will be studied by perturbing information flowing from this system through low-current electrical stimulation. Overall, this research program combines techniques probing both mechanical and sensory factors underlying walking control in order to better understand how we navigate our environments.