What affects the movement can be seen from the movement: Effects of optical information and dynamical constraints on movement production and perception

This study investigates how optical information and dynamical constraints influence movement production and perception. In Experiment 1, 16 volunteers walked or performed a Y-balance movement with and without sight on sturdy or foam-padded floors. The optical information and force environment affected the participants' kinematics, such as stride duration, stride length, stride width, gait speed, joint ranges of motion for walking, total movement duration, and joint ranges of motion for Y-balance. Naïve observers then watched these movements on a point-light display and distinguished movements executed under different optical information (Experiment 2) and force environment (Experiment 3) conditions. They were able to pick out movements performed without sight, especially for those performed on a padded floor; they were also able to discriminate movements performed on different supporting surfaces, especially when the actors were blindfolded. Thus, discriminating movement conditions from point-light displays was possible, and better with higher kinematic variability. Logistic regressions showed discriminating movements relied on the movement kinematics that varied the most between conditions. This information was valid and useful regardless of viewing perspective; that is, whether the walking and Y-balance were displayed in the frontal or side view, the perceptual performance was equivalent. Thus, both optical information and dynamical constraints shape movement patterns in ways that are perceptible through the kinematic variations.