Citation

Brennan AA, Bakdash JZ, Proffitt DR. Exp. Brain Res. 2012; 216(4): 527-534.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada, abrennan@psych.ubc.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00221-011-2956-9

PMID

22120157

Abstract

People have a lifetime of experience in which to calibrate their self-produced locomotion with the resultant optical flow. Contrary to walking across the ground, however, walking on a treadmill produces minimal optical flow, and consequentially, a perceptual-motor aftereffect results. We demonstrate that the magnitude of this perceptual-motor aftereffect-measured by forward drift while attempting to march in-place following treadmill walking-decreases as experience walking on a treadmill is acquired over time. Experience with treadmill walking enables walking in this context to become sufficiently distinguished from walking in other contexts. Consequently, two distinct perceptual-motor calibration states are maintained, each linked to the context in which walking occurs. Experience with treadmill walking maintains perceptual-motor calibration accuracy in both walking contexts, despite changes to the relationship between perception and action.

Language: en