Center for Perceptual Systems, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; Brain and Cognitive Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
Curr Biol. 2018 Apr 23;28(8):1224-1233.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.008. Epub 2018 Apr 12.
Human locomotion through natural environments requires precise coordination between the biomechanics of the bipedal gait cycle and the eye movements that gather the information needed to guide foot placement. However, little is known about how the visual and locomotor systems work together to support movement through the world. We developed a system to simultaneously record gaze and full-body kinematics during locomotion over different outdoor terrains. We found that not only do walkers tune their gaze behavior to the specific information needed to traverse paths of varying complexity but that they do so while maintaining a constant temporal look-ahead window across all terrains. This strategy allows walkers to use gaze to tailor their energetically optimal preferred gait cycle to the upcoming path in order to balance between the drive to move efficiently and the need to place the feet in stable locations. Eye movements and locomotion are intimately linked in a way that reflects the integration of energetic costs, environmental uncertainty, and momentary informational demands of the locomotor task. Thus, the relationship between gaze and gait reveals the structure of the sensorimotor decisions that support successful performance in the face of the varying demands of the natural world. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
人类在自然环境中的运动需要精确协调双足步态周期的生物力学和收集引导足置所需信息的眼球运动。然而，人们对于视觉和运动系统如何协同工作以支持在世界中的运动知之甚少。我们开发了一种系统，可在不同户外地形上运动时同时记录注视和全身运动学。我们发现，步行者不仅会根据穿越不同复杂程度路径所需的特定信息调整注视行为，而且他们在所有地形上都保持恒定的时间前瞻窗口。这种策略使步行者能够利用注视来调整其能量最优的首选步态周期，以适应即将到来的路径，从而在高效移动的动力和将脚放在稳定位置的需求之间取得平衡。眼球运动和运动以一种反映能量成本、环境不确定性和运动任务瞬时信息需求整合的方式紧密相连。因此，注视和步态之间的关系揭示了支持在自然世界不断变化的需求下成功表现的感觉运动决策的结构。视频摘要。
