Abstract
Seven healthy individuals were recruited to examine the interaction between visual and vestibular information on locomotor trajectory during walking. Subjects wore goggles that either contained a clear lens or a prism that displaced the visual scene either 20° to the left or right. A 5-s bipolar, binaural galvanic stimulus (GVS) was also applied at three times the subject's individual threshold (ranged between 1.2 to 1.5 mA). Subjects stood with their eyes closed and walked forward at a casual pace. At first heel contact, subjects opened their eyes and triggered the galvanic stimulus by foot switches positioned underneath a board. Reflective markers were placed bilaterally on the shoulders as the walking trajectory was captured using a camera mounted on the ceiling above the testing area. Twelve conditions were randomly assigned that combined four visual conditions (eyes closed, eyes open, left prism, right prism) and three GVS conditions (no GVS, GVS anode left, GVS anode right). As subjects walked forward, there was a tendency to deviate in the direction of the prisms. During GVS trials, subjects deviated towards the anode while walking, with the greatest deviations occurring with the eyes closed. However, when GVS was presented with the prisms, subjects always deviated to the side of the prisms, regardless of the position of the anode. Furthermore, the visual-vestibular conditions produced a larger lateral deviation than those observed in the prisms-only trials. This suggests that the nervous system examines the sensory inputs and takes into account the most reliable and relevant sensory input.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank P. Nagelkerke for his technical contributions to this study. This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grants to J.T.I., I.M.F, and to R.C.
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Kennedy, P.M., Carlsen, A.N., Inglis, J.T. et al. Relative contributions of visual and vestibular information on the trajectory of human gait. Exp Brain Res 153, 113–117 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1633-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1633-z