Can footprints tell you more than fingerprints? Understanding the Fundamentals of State- and Trait-Dependent Gait Patterns

直立行走是一项令人惊叹的人类能力，我们常常认为这是理所当然的，然而我们仍然不清楚人类神经系统是如何控制行走的，以及我们的行走模式中包含了多少信息。我的研究项目推进了对人类行走的神经控制背后复杂性的基本理解，以帮助解决以下问题：为什么人与人之间的行走模式如此不同，行走行为能揭示个人的什么？近年来，对行走控制的理解已经转变为揭示认知和情绪状态的影响作用。我的研究项目结合了运动运动学、生理学、虚拟现实和认知神经科学，以揭示行走的神经基础和影响行走模式的认知情感因素。我的工作的独特之处在于关注特质（个人特定）和状态（情境/任务依赖）水平对个人行走模式的认知情绪影响。我之前的研究强调了这一点的重要性，研究表明，个体之间焦虑的特质水平差异会导致认知能力显著下降，更容易受到平衡控制和行走障碍的干扰。因此，对状态和特征依赖的行走模式进行更详细、更细致的研究(1)，将促进对觉醒和注意力各自随时间变化的作用的理解（2,3），这是一个目前尚未得到充分研究的领域。为了充分理解人类行走模式的复杂性，我的实验室将利用一种多维方法，一方面描述肌肉和关节的相互作用，另一方面描述生理反应，即在协调行走的不同阶段索引唤醒和注意力需求。我们的实验方法检查了行走模式对真实和虚拟干扰（诱导威胁或强加认知挑战）的反应，类似于日常经历。通过同时测量眼球运动、自我报告的情绪感受和行走时唤醒的生理结果，我的实验室将探索不同的内部和外部事件如何限制注意力、影响唤醒，并最终塑造个人的运动轮廓。对神经科学和加拿大的好处：个人的步行模式可能是衰老和相关活动问题的现代动态“指纹”。了解行走模式中隐含的信息，使我们能够探索监测行走的效用，以识别老年人跌倒或痴呆的风险，以及年轻人的情绪障碍。这项研究将推动个性化辅助技术、机器人技术和生物医学工程的发展，重点是根据个人特征增强机动性，而不是一刀切。总之，这项工作的结果对不同领域的研究都有好处，所有这些研究都旨在提高加拿大人的安全和福祉。

Walking upright is an astounding human ability that we often take for granted, yet it remains unclear how the human nervous system controls walking and how much information is embedded in our walking pattern. My research program advances the foundational understanding of the complexities underlying the neural control of human walking to help address the question: Why are patterns of walking so different across people and what can walking behaviour reveal about an individual? Understanding the control of walking has transformed over recent years to expose an influential role of cognitive and emotional states. My research program combines movement kinematics, physiology, virtual reality and cognitive neuroscience to uncover the neural basis of walking and cognitive-emotional factors that contribute to walking patterns. Unique to my work is a focus on both trait (person-specific) and state (context/task dependent) level cognitive-emotional influences on individual patterns of walking. The importance is highlighted by my previous research which shows that trait-level differences in anxiety across individuals can produce marked reductions in cognitive performance and greater susceptibility to interference with balance control and walking. Thus, a more detailed and granular investigation that dissects state- and trait-dependent walking patterns (O1) , will advance the understanding of the respective time-varying roles of arousal and attention (O2, O3), an area currently understudied. To fully appreciate the complexity of human walking patterns, my lab will utilise a multi-dimensional approach that describes muscular and joint interactions on the one hand, and physiological responses that index arousal and attentional demands across different phases of coordinated walking on the other. Our experimental approach examines walking patterns in response to real and virtual perturbations (inducing threat or imposing cognitive challenges) similar to those experienced on a daily basis. By simultaneously measuring eye movements, self-reported emotional feelings, and physiological outcomes of arousal while walking, my lab will explore how different internal and external events constrain attention, influence arousal, and ultimately shape an individual's movement profile. Benefits to Neuroscience and Canada: Individual walking patterns may be the modern dynamic `fingerprint' for aging and related mobility issues. Understanding the information that is embedded in walking patterns allows us to explore the utility of monitoring walking to identify those at-risk for falls or dementia in older adults, and mood disorders in younger adults. This research will advance personalised assistive technology, robotics, and biomedical engineering focused on enhancing mobility tailored to individual traits rather than one-size fits all. In sum, the outcomes of this work have benefits to diverse fields of research, all aimed at improving the safety and wellbeing of Canadians.