Abstract
selection of alternate foot placement is based on visual inputs and the prediction of future foot placement combined with a set of internal rules that are guided by three determinants: minimum foot displacement, stability, and maintenance of forward progression. These three determinants are weighted differently, depending on different constraints. The first purpose of this review is to define and provide evidence to support this model. Alternate foot placement response latency appears to vary according to methodological and/or task constraints. The paradigms and latency measurement methods that are used to investigate alternate foot placement may have important implications for alternate foot placement control. Very short latencies to initiate alternate foot placement can be observed when walking on a treadmill, and longer latencies can be observed when walking on the ground. The second purpose of this review is to discuss differences in the latency to initiate alternate foot placement. The data reviewed herein indicate that looking at multiple parameters is important when studying movement selection and planning during human locomotion. Different latencies to select and implement alternate foot placement are part of a continuum that ranges from the most to the least automatic response.
Highlights
Locomotion on even terrain has been extensively studied in recent decades, including investigations of the neural bases of generating basic locomotor patterns
Activities in daily life require adaptation in basic locomotor patterns to avoid the loss of stability during gait on uneven terrain
According to Moraes and Gobbi (2008), adaptive locomotion consists of the ability to adjust the basic pattern of locomotion to environmental demands by considering the conditions of the individual and task goals, with the aim of maintaining dynamic stability
Summary
Locomotion on even terrain has been extensively studied in recent decades, including investigations of the neural bases of generating basic locomotor patterns. Changes in the direction of locomotion, increases in toe clearance to step over obstacles, and the modulation of step length and width are modifications used to adapt and maintain locomotion over uneven terrain. Width, and height of the step are essential to adapt locomotion to uneven terrain, and these are the mechanisms that are available for the control system to perform the task of avoiding stepping in undesirable areas. Changes in step length or width with the intention of avoiding an undesirable area on the ground (e.g., a water puddle, hole in the ground, or a piece of glass) is called “alternate foot placement,” which is considered an anticipatory balance control strategy. Before discussing these issues, providing details about the measurements and protocols that are typically found in studies of alternate foot placement is important
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