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Motives driving gaze and walking decisions.

F Javier Domínguez-Zamora¹, Daniel S Marigold¹

¹Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.

Current Biology : CB

|February 18, 2021

Summary

How we direct our gaze influences where we step. Some individuals prioritize visual certainty, even if it costs more effort, while others prioritize minimizing physical effort when making stepping decisions.

Keywords:

cost decision making gaze information seeking locomotion uncertainty

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Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

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Published on: April 16, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Biomechanics
Human Motor Control

Background:

Navigating complex environments requires coordinated gaze and body movements.
Gaze direction may be influenced by the need to reduce environmental uncertainty and ensure movement accuracy.
During walking, gaze allocation decisions balance visual information acquisition against motor costs like effort and balance.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the interplay between visual uncertainty and motor cost in guiding gaze and stepping decisions during locomotion.
To determine how individual differences in gaze behavior predict stepping strategies.
To understand the underlying motives driving gaze and foot-placement choices in humans.

Main Methods:

A forced-choice walking paradigm was employed to manipulate visual uncertainty and motor cost.
Participants' gaze behavior was analyzed based on their sensitivity to visual uncertainty.
The relationship between gaze patterns and subsequent step-target choices was examined.

Main Results:

Individual gaze behavior, specifically sensitivity to visual uncertainty, predicted stepping choices.
Participants prioritizing visual certainty looked longer at uncertain targets and stepped on more certain locations, accepting higher motor costs.
Participants prioritizing motor cost focused gaze on fewer targets and chose steps minimizing physical effort.

Conclusions:

Gaze behavior is a key determinant of stepping decisions during locomotion.
Distinct individual strategies exist for balancing information gain (reducing uncertainty) and energy conservation (minimizing motor cost).
These findings shed light on the cognitive and motor control mechanisms underlying human navigation and movement planning.