Abstract
Optic flow stimuli are crucial for the control of stance in the upright position. The visual control of posture has recently received a lot of interest from several researchers. One of the most intriguing aspects is the contribution of the different parts of the visual field in the control of stance. Here we reviewed the results of several studies performed with different methodologies that tried to determine the effect of optic flow on postural control, by analyzing the role of the central and peripheral visual fields. Although the results were controversial, the majority of these studies agreed to assign the most important role in postural control to the peripheral retina. However, these studies were performed using different approaches and different definitions of the central and peripheral visual fields. The choice of the exact portion of the retina to be stimulated is crucial given that the stimulation of the central and the peripheral parts of the retina leads to the activation of different geniculo-cortical pathways and results in different cortical processing of information.
Highlights
Different optic flow patterns provide important information about self-motion [1]
When an observer moves through the environment while fixating on his/her final destination, the visual perception of self-motion is mainly due to the focus of expansion” (FOE) of the optic flow field
Presented the participants with random patterns of circular dots that were either static or moving [42], showing that the peripheral vision had a stabilizing effect in the direction of the stimulus observation. These results suggested that peripheral vision makes a strong contribution to postural control, and that the peripheral visual field controlled posture in a head-centered rather than in a body-centered frame of reference
Summary
Different optic flow patterns provide important information about self-motion [1]. In 1950, James. Optic flow is a complex visual array with specific spatial and temporal characteristics, like geometric structure, amplitude, speed, frequency, and location in the visual field (such as the foveal or peripheral regions) All these features can influence evoked postural responses [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Changes in the visual input, such as passing from a dark to light environment, or directional changes such as from a forward to backward locomotion, require an updating of the sensory integration in order to provide the motor cortex with precise and consistent information about both the extra-personal space and the internal state [5,7,12,23]. A motor action consists of many interconnected contributing factors [11]
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