Physical Therapy Program, Department of Kinesiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, United States.
Infant Behav Dev. 2012 Dec;35(4):711-8. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2012.05.008. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
This study examined infant treadmill stepping in two groups of pre-locomotor infants in response to terrestrial optic flow. The optic flow was provided via the treadmill belt for flow translation that was directionally consistent with the forward stepping of the infants. Twelve 2-5-month-old and twelve 7-10-month-old infants participated. Visual attention (duration and direction) and step responsiveness (frequency and step types) were coded from digital video, and visuomotor coupling was examined by temporally juxtaposing the visual attention and step data. Longer durations of visual attention to the patterned belt with increased step frequencies during periods of visual attention were observed, suggesting that the visuotactile calibration afforded by the patterned treadmill belt, increased visuomotor coupling and enhanced the frequency and complexity of stepping in prelocomotor infants. The findings are discussed with regard to sensorimotor experiences that enhance treadmill stepping in infants and that may have application to clinical populations.
本研究考察了两组处于前置运动阶段的婴儿对地面视景流的反应，观察其在跑步机上的踏步行为。通过跑步机履带为婴儿提供方向与向前踏步一致的流场转换视景。12 名 2-5 个月大的婴儿和 12 名 7-10 个月大的婴儿参与了实验。通过数字视频对视觉注意力（持续时间和方向）和踏步反应（频率和步型）进行了编码，并通过将视觉注意力和踏步数据时间上并置来检查视动耦合。研究结果表明，与无图案的跑步机履带相比，带有图案的履带能引起婴儿更长时间的视觉注意，且在视觉注意期间踏步频率增加，这提示着图案化的跑步机履带提供的视触校准作用，增强了视动耦合，提高了前置运动婴儿踏步的频率和复杂性。本文还讨论了这些发现与增强婴儿在跑步机上踏步的感觉运动经验的关系，这些经验可能对临床人群具有应用价值。
