Memory-guided obstacle crossing: more failures were observed for the trail limb versus lead limb

During adaptive locomotion, vision is used to guide the lead limb; however, the individual must rely on knowledge of obstacle height and position, termed obstacle memory, to guide the trail limb. Previous research has demonstrated that visual sampling of the obstacle during approach was adequate to provide obstacle height information, but online visual update of distance to the obstacle was required to plan and implement appropriate foot placement. Our purpose was to determine whether obstacle height memory, coupled with a visible obstacle position cue, could successfully guide the foot during obstacle crossing. Subjects first stepped over an obstacle for 25 trials; then, the obstacle was removed, but its position was marked with high-contrast tape; subjects were instructed to step over the obstacle as if it was still there (termed "virtual obstacle") for 25 trials. No changes in foot placement were observed; therefore, the position cue provided salient online information to guide foot placement. Average failure rates (subject would have contacted the virtual obstacle if it was present) were 9 and 47 % (lead and trail limb, respectively). Therefore, action was impaired for both limbs when guided by obstacle height memory, but action was impaired to a greater extent for the trail limb. Therefore, viewing the obstacle during approach appears to facilitate the memory needed to guide obstacle crossing, particularly for the trail limb. This is likely because the lead limb is visible in the peripheral visual field during crossing, but the trail limb is not.