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Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Visuomotor error augmentation affects mediolateral head and trunk stabilization during walking.

Mu Qiao¹, Jackson T Richards², Jason R Franz²

¹Department of Kinesiology, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA, USA.

Human Movement Science

|November 16, 2019

Summary

Humans do not minimize visual errors during walking. Instead, visual feedback can independently adjust head and trunk motion, improving postural control and potentially aiding balance training.

Keywords:

Adaptation Anchor Medio-lateral Optical flow Stability

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Area of Science:

Human locomotion and postural control
Visuomotor integration
Sensory feedback mechanisms

Background:

Humans naturally synchronize head and trunk movements to perceived motion.
Previous research focused on optical flow's influence on kinematics.
The role of combined sensory feedback in walking stabilization is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if humans integrate visual, vestibular, and somatosensory feedback for head and trunk stabilization during walking.
To determine if individuals minimize visual-motor errors between perceived and actual trunk movement.
To explore the effects of error-augmented visual feedback on gait and postural sway.

Main Methods:

Utilized a closed-loop visuomotor error augmentation task in a virtual reality environment.
Exposed participants to optical flow with positive feedback gains to manipulate perceived mediolateral motion.
Measured head and trunk kinematics, step parameters, and postural sway.

Main Results:

Participants did not minimize visual errors; instead, they increased mediolateral trunk motion in response to augmented visual feedback.
Visual feedback was found to independently drive adjustments in head and trunk position, overriding other sensory inputs.
Post-exposure effects included longer, narrower steps and reduced mediolateral postural sway, particularly with higher feedback gains.

Conclusions:

Visual feedback plays a dominant role in overriding other sensory modalities for head and trunk stabilization during walking.
Error-augmented visual feedback can lead to recalibration of postural control mechanisms.
These findings suggest potential applications for using augmented reality to enhance walking balance and prevent falls, especially in vulnerable populations like older adults.