title: Does perceptual-motor calibration generalize across two different forms of locomotion? Investigations of walking and wheelchairs.
abstract: The relationship between biomechanical action and perception of self-motion during walking is typically consistent and well-learned but also adaptable. This perceptual-motor coupling can be recalibrated by creating a mismatch between the visual information for self-motion and walking speed. Perceptual-motor recalibration of locomotion has been demonstrated through effects on subsequent walking without vision, showing that learned perceptual-motor coupling influences a dynamic representation of one's spatial position during walking. Our present studies test whether recalibration of wheelchair locomotion, a novel form of locomotion for typically walking individuals, similarly influences subsequent wheelchair locomotion. Furthermore, we test whether adaptation to the pairing of visual information for self-motion during one form of locomotion transfers to a different locomotion modality. We find strong effects of perceptual-motor recalibration for matched locomotion modalities--walking/walking and wheeling/wheeling. Transfer across incongruent locomotion modalities showed weak recalibration effects. The results have implications both for theories of perceptual-motor calibration mechanisms and their effects on spatial orientation, as well as for practical applications in training and rehabilitation.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, United States of America. bkunz1@udayton.edu
authors: Benjamin R
authors: BR
authors: Kunz
authors: Sarah H
authors: SH
authors: Creem-Regehr
authors: William B
authors: WB
authors: Thompson
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000523:psychology*