Authié, CN;
Berthoz, A;
Sahel, JA;
Safran, A;
(2017)
Adaptive gaze strategies for locomotion with constricted visual field.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
, 11
10.3389/fnhum.2017.00387.
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Abstract
In retinitis pigmentosa (RP), loss of peripheral visual field accounts for most difficulties encountered in visuo-motor coordination during locomotion. The purpose of this study was to accurately assess the impact of peripheral visual field loss on gaze strategies during locomotion, and identify compensatory mechanisms. Nine RP subjects presenting a central visual field limited to 10–25° in diameter, and nine healthy subjects were asked to walk in one of three directions—straight ahead to a visual target, leftward and rightward through a door frame, with or without obstacle on the way. Whole body kinematics were recorded by motion capture, and gaze direction in space was reconstructed using an eye-tracker. Changes in gaze strategies were identified in RP subjects, including extensive exploration prior to walking, frequent fixations of the ground (even knowing no obstacle was present), of door edges, essentially of the proximal one, of obstacle edge/corner, and alternating door edges fixations when approaching the door. This was associated with more frequent, sometimes larger rapid-eye-movements, larger movements, and forward tilting of the head. Despite the visual handicap, the trajectory geometry was identical between groups, with a small decrease in walking speed in RPs. These findings identify the adaptive changes in sensory-motor coordination, in order to ensure visual awareness of the surrounding, detect changes in spatial configuration, collect information for self-motion, update the postural reference frame, and update egocentric distances to environmental objects. They are of crucial importance for the design of optimized rehabilitation procedures.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Adaptive gaze strategies for locomotion with constricted visual field |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00387 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00387 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Retinitis pigmentosa, peripheral visual field loss, adaptation, orientation and mobility, gaze strategy, eye-head coordination |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10053692 |
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