The Influence of Visuo-Spatial Working Memory on Gait Characteristics in Blindfolded Healthy Adults

While the brain perceives the world through active processing of visual information, it is unknown how blindfolded individuals change their walking behavior under non-visuo-spatial working memory (non-VSWM). The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) on the straight walking performance in blindfolded adults. Methods: Twenty-two participants were recruited to perform straight walking on instrumented walking platform under each of four conditions: non-VSWM, first VSWM, full vision and second VSWM. The 6-m pressure plate was applied to measure the foot-ground contact data, which were used to calculate walking speed, step length, cadence, and walking direction. A tactile line extended along the edge between the platform and the ground was to provide failure feedback to the participants. ANDV As with repeated measures were performed to determine effects between conditions. Results: When compared to the full vision condition, participants with blindfold exhibited slower walking speed <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(P &lt; 0.05)$</tex>, reduced stride length <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(P &lt; 0.05)$</tex>, and smaller cadence <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(P &lt; 0.05)$</tex> regardless non-VSWM or VSWM. Moreover, 93.3% of participants returned to their original direction if their feet contacted the tactile line, but none of them was able to return back to their original straight walking direction. Additionally, when participants became familiarized with the test environment in the second VSWM condition, their walking speed significantly increased compared with the non-VSWM <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(P &lt; 0.05)$</tex> and first VSWM <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(P &lt; 0.05)$</tex> conditions. Conclusion: These findings suggest that when walking with limited visual information, individuals would walk with safety-stepping strategy regardless of non-VSWM and VSWM conditions. The interaction of tactile feedback can provide insights into the implementation of tactile handrails or markers in public places to ensure public safety. This can provide insights for the robotic vision together with other sensors to be integrated into the robotic design for task execution in new environments.