Visual Performance and the Optical Control of Stance

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

People never stand still. Even the most rigid stance includes sways of one to two inches slowly and subtly back and forth. Movement is necessary for balance. Balance can be a critical issue for elderly persons and patients with brain damage. A fall for an elderly person can be catastrophic leading to a broken hip and lengthy hospitalization. Balance is commonly believed to originate in the inner ear. However, think of the feelings that can be induced visually in an Imax theater-vision also plays an important role. So, how do we do things standing up such as read or use tools? How do postural and non-postural activities relate to each other? For instance, do they compete do balance and reading interfere with one another? Or does posture adjust to reading such as reduced sway that makes it easier to see a text. With NSF support, Dr. Stoffregen will conduct studies to examine balance. One goal is to determine the extent to which there is competition or integration of postural motion with cognitive activities such as reading. Previous studies primarily examined postural control as an isolated activity, without consideration of cognitive activity. Another set of studies examines "Imax effects," effects of optic flow. These studies examine the extent of control of visual motion over balance, whether the effect is automatic. Dr. Stoffregen creates situations in which visual motion that affects balance would aid or hinder performance of a visual cognitive task. The broader impacts of his research may include ways to prevent life-threatening falls in the elderly and testing techniques for early subtle signs of brain damage that affect balance. Other broader impacts concern the visually based experience of self-motion in general, as in the state-of-the-art flight simulators used in aviation.