Watch your step! Uncovering the neurocognitive basis for the relationship between human attention and mobility

众所周知，对环境中物体位置的注意（即视觉空间注意）对于指导运动行为非常重要。例如，当我们与正在交谈的人保持目光接触时，我们使用视觉空间注意力来引导我们的手拿起咖啡杯。我之前的研究已经将这种关系扩展到行走或移动领域。具体来说，我发现视觉空间注意力对于在环境中安全行走是至关重要的，通过检查特定人群的注意力，这些人群表现出行动不便——有跌倒史的老年人。我目前的研究项目旨在揭示对移动性至关重要的特定注意力过程，并阐明支持这种关系的潜在大脑功能和结构。这将通过一系列的实验室实验来实现，在这些实验中，我将与研究生一起使用先进的神经成像技术（脑电图，EEG；磁共振成像，MRI）来进一步了解对移动性至关重要的大脑过程。具体来说，我们会研究移动是否与“注意力缩小”有关(

It is well known that attention for the location of objects in our environment (i.e., visual-spatial attention) is important for guiding motor behaviour. For example, we use visual-spatial attention to guide our hands to pick up our coffee mug while we maintain eye contact with a person we are engaged in conversation with. My previous research has extended this relationship to the walking, or mobility, domain. Specifically, I have found that visual-spatial attention is critical for safely walking through our environment by examining attention in a specific population manifesting impaired mobility – older adults with a history of falls. My current research program aims to uncover the specific attentional processes that are essential for mobility, and to elucidate the underlying brain functions and structures that support this relationship. This will be achieved through a series of laboratory experiments where, along with graduate students, I will use advance neuroimaging techniques (electroencephalograms, EEG; magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) to further our understanding of the brain processes that are critical for mobility. Specifically, we will examine whether mobility is associated with a “narrowing of attention” (