title: Coordination of locomotion and prehension.
abstract: Although locomotion and prehension are commonly coordinated in everyday life, little previous research has focused on this form of coordination. To address this neglected topic, we asked participants to stand a variable distance from a table, walk up to the table, and move an object on the tabletop to a new tabletop position, either to the right or to the left of the object's initial position and near or far from that initial position. For large manual displacements, which required a step after picking up the object, subjects preferred to stand on the foot opposite the direction of forthcoming manual displacement. By contrast, for small manual displacements, which did not require a step after picking up the object, subjects showed no support-leg preference when they grasped the object prior to manual displacement. The support-leg preferences at grasp time were apparently anticipated by participants as they walked up to the table, indicating considerable long-range planning of entire body positions associated with forthcoming object transfers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. RXV906@PSU.EDU
authors.forename: Robrecht P R D
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: van der Wel
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*