Lustig Adi, Benady Amit, Gilaie-Dotan Sharon, Plotnik Meir
Center of Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation, Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer, Israel.
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
Psychophysiology. 2025 May;62(5):e70072. doi: 10.1111/psyp.70072.
The force of gravity critically impacts locomotion regulation while walking on inclined surfaces. To construct an updated assessment about the gravitational consequences and change gait patterns accordingly, the central nervous system (CNS) integrates multiple sensorial cues, including vestibular and proprioceptive (i.e., body-based cues) and visual. Not much is known about the contribution of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) to locomotion regulation, especially when multiple types of sensorial cues are involved. Here we examine the responsiveness of the ANS, as reflected by cardiac reactivity, for example heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), to coherent versus non-coherent sensorimotor signaling. Fourteen healthy young participants completed level, uphill, and downhill self-paced walking trials in a virtual reality (VR) environment in which the incline of the visual scene was either congruent or incongruent with the physical incline of the walking surface. We found that during level walking, incongruent visual cues (i.e., up/downhill scenery) triggered alterations in ANS balance, reflected in HRV decrease and in a residual increase of HR. Taken together with the fact that an ultimate change in gait patterns requires alterations in cardiac resources, we speculate that ANS function and its responsive modes of action are, in fact, facilitating adaptive behavior.
在倾斜表面上行走时，重力对运动调节有着至关重要的影响。为了构建关于重力影响的最新评估并相应地改变步态模式，中枢神经系统（CNS）整合了多种感觉线索，包括前庭和本体感觉（即基于身体的线索）以及视觉线索。关于自主神经系统（ANS）对运动调节的贡献，尤其是在涉及多种感觉线索时，我们了解得并不多。在此，我们通过心脏反应性来研究自主神经系统的反应性，例如心率（HR）和心率变异性（HRV），以了解其对连贯与不连贯的感觉运动信号的反应。14名健康的年轻参与者在虚拟现实（VR）环境中完成了平地、上坡和下坡的自定步速行走试验，在该环境中，视觉场景的倾斜度与行走表面的实际倾斜度要么一致，要么不一致。我们发现，在平地行走过程中，不一致的视觉线索（即上坡/下坡风景）会引发自主神经系统平衡的改变，表现为心率变异性降低和心率残余增加。鉴于步态模式的最终改变需要心脏资源的改变，我们推测自主神经系统的功能及其反应作用模式实际上有助于适应性行为。
