Dartmouth Events

Please join us on Friday, November 6, 2020, at 3:30 p.m., for a virtual colloquium given by Mary Hayhoe, Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin.

Title:  Gaze Control and Locomotion in Natural Terrain

Abstract:  Eye movements in the natural world reflect the information needs of the momentary behavioral goals, the rewards and costs associated with those goals, and uncertainty about the state of the world. We examine how these factors trade off in the context of walking outdoors, a situation where little is known about how visual and locomotor systems work together to achieve efficient and stable behavior. We recorded gaze and full-body kinematics during locomotion in terrains of varying difficulty, as well as the video record from a head mounted scene camera. Walkers tune their gaze behavior to the specific information needed for paths of varying complexity and modulate gait to balance the competing demands of efficiency and stability. We also examine how gaze choices modulate the retinal input, and show that the behavioral context allows a different interpretation of how self-generated motion patterns are used.

Zoom details will be forthcoming.