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Motor-equivalent covariation stabilizes step parameters and center of mass position during treadmill walking

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Abstract

We investigated motor-equivalent stabilization of task-related variables (TRV) at times of heel strike in eight healthy young men (23–30 years) who walked on a motorized treadmill at self-selected and prescribed speeds within the normal walking speed range. The TRV consisted of step parameters (step length and width) and the center of mass (CoM) position relative to the support (back and front feet). Motor-equivalent stabilization of the TRV was assessed using a decorrelation technique, comparing empirical to decorrelated (covariation-free) variability. Analysis indicated reliable covariation for all TRV. In both the fore-aft and lateral directions, stabilization by covariation was highest for CoM position relative to the front foot, indicating a prioritization of equilibrium-related variables. Correlations among TRV revealed that the relation between CoM and step parameter control differed between the fore-aft and lateral directions. While stabilization of lateral foot position appears to be due to control of CoM relative to each foot, step length showed small, but reliable, stabilization beyond CoM stabilization, which may be related to spatiotemporal regularity of the step pattern.

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Notes

  1. For the model including the additional knee adduction/abduction angle, model error was around 2 mm for all the TRV and thereby substantially smaller for the lateral (Y) measures. To control for the effect of this error, all the analyses reported here were also carried out with a model including knee abduction/adduction, with qualitatively equivalent results.

  2. In the original CR approach, a generalized correlation is defined as TV/TV0−1. To approximate a normal distribution, these measures should be transformed prior to statistical analysis by a variant of Fisher’s z’-transformation, in particular when covariation is high. This transformation is essentially equivalent to taking the log transform of COV.

Abbreviations

DOF:

Degree(s) of freedom

TRV:

Task-related variable(s)

CR:

Covariation by randomization

UCM:

Uncontrolled manifold

CoM:

Center of mass

X, Y:

Fore-aft and lateral dimensions

STEP(X/Y):

Step parameters (step length/width)

BCOM(X/Y):

CoM position relative to back foot (fore-aft/lateral)

FCOM(X/Y):

CoM position relative to front foot (fore-aft/lateral)

FIX:

Fixed speed condition

OVG:

Overground speed condition

LCS:

Local coordinate system

RCS:

Relative coordinate system

MTPJ:

Metatarsophalangeal joint

TV, TV0 :

Empirical and decorrelated task variability

COV:

Motor-equivalent covariation

ρ X , ρ Y :

Step–CoM correlation (fore-aft/lateral)

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Michael Schellenbach, Gabriele Faust, and Sabine Schaefer, as well as the student assistants of the Sensorimotor-Cognitive Couplings Team at the MPI for Human Development for organizational and technical support and help with data acquisition and processing. JV is supported by a scholarship from the International Max Planck Research School LIFE (The Life Course: Evolutionary and Ontogenetic Dynamics).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Julius Verrel, Martin Lövdén & Ulman Lindenberger

  2. Department of Psychology, Lund University, Box 213, 22100, Lund, Sweden

    Martin Lövdén

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  1. Julius Verrel
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  2. Martin Lövdén
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Correspondence to Julius Verrel.

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Verrel, J., Lövdén, M. & Lindenberger, U. Motor-equivalent covariation stabilizes step parameters and center of mass position during treadmill walking. Exp Brain Res 207, 13–26 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-010-2424-y

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