Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion.
We examine the structure of the visual motion projected on the retina during natural locomotion in real world environments. Bipedal gait generates a complex, rhythmic pattern of head translation and rotation in space, so without gaze stabilization mechanisms such as the vestibular-ocular-reflex (VOR...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-02-01
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| Series: | PLoS Computational Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009575 |
| _version_ | 1818061804902809600 |
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| author | Jonathan Samir Matthis Karl S Muller Kathryn L Bonnen Mary M Hayhoe |
| author_facet | Jonathan Samir Matthis Karl S Muller Kathryn L Bonnen Mary M Hayhoe |
| author_sort | Jonathan Samir Matthis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We examine the structure of the visual motion projected on the retina during natural locomotion in real world environments. Bipedal gait generates a complex, rhythmic pattern of head translation and rotation in space, so without gaze stabilization mechanisms such as the vestibular-ocular-reflex (VOR) a walker's visually specified heading would vary dramatically throughout the gait cycle. The act of fixation on stable points in the environment nulls image motion at the fovea, resulting in stable patterns of outflow on the retinae centered on the point of fixation. These outflowing patterns retain a higher order structure that is informative about the stabilized trajectory of the eye through space. We measure this structure by applying the curl and divergence operations on the retinal flow velocity vector fields and found features that may be valuable for the control of locomotion. In particular, the sign and magnitude of foveal curl in retinal flow specifies the body's trajectory relative to the gaze point, while the point of maximum divergence in the retinal flow field specifies the walker's instantaneous overground velocity/momentum vector in retinotopic coordinates. Assuming that walkers can determine the body position relative to gaze direction, these time-varying retinotopic cues for the body's momentum could provide a visual control signal for locomotion over complex terrain. In contrast, the temporal variation of the eye-movement-free, head-centered flow fields is large enough to be problematic for use in steering towards a goal. Consideration of optic flow in the context of real-world locomotion therefore suggests a re-evaluation of the role of optic flow in the control of action during natural behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:54:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67eb6d35bd2a4b5699f76c57749a198e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-734X 1553-7358 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:54:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Computational Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-67eb6d35bd2a4b5699f76c57749a198e2022-12-22T01:46:04ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582022-02-01182e100957510.1371/journal.pcbi.1009575Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion.Jonathan Samir MatthisKarl S MullerKathryn L BonnenMary M HayhoeWe examine the structure of the visual motion projected on the retina during natural locomotion in real world environments. Bipedal gait generates a complex, rhythmic pattern of head translation and rotation in space, so without gaze stabilization mechanisms such as the vestibular-ocular-reflex (VOR) a walker's visually specified heading would vary dramatically throughout the gait cycle. The act of fixation on stable points in the environment nulls image motion at the fovea, resulting in stable patterns of outflow on the retinae centered on the point of fixation. These outflowing patterns retain a higher order structure that is informative about the stabilized trajectory of the eye through space. We measure this structure by applying the curl and divergence operations on the retinal flow velocity vector fields and found features that may be valuable for the control of locomotion. In particular, the sign and magnitude of foveal curl in retinal flow specifies the body's trajectory relative to the gaze point, while the point of maximum divergence in the retinal flow field specifies the walker's instantaneous overground velocity/momentum vector in retinotopic coordinates. Assuming that walkers can determine the body position relative to gaze direction, these time-varying retinotopic cues for the body's momentum could provide a visual control signal for locomotion over complex terrain. In contrast, the temporal variation of the eye-movement-free, head-centered flow fields is large enough to be problematic for use in steering towards a goal. Consideration of optic flow in the context of real-world locomotion therefore suggests a re-evaluation of the role of optic flow in the control of action during natural behavior.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009575 |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan Samir Matthis Karl S Muller Kathryn L Bonnen Mary M Hayhoe Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion. PLoS Computational Biology |
| title | Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion. |
| title_full | Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion. |
| title_fullStr | Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion. |
| title_short | Retinal optic flow during natural locomotion. |
| title_sort | retinal optic flow during natural locomotion |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009575 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jonathansamirmatthis retinalopticflowduringnaturallocomotion AT karlsmuller retinalopticflowduringnaturallocomotion AT kathrynlbonnen retinalopticflowduringnaturallocomotion AT marymhayhoe retinalopticflowduringnaturallocomotion |