Reproducibility of Distance and Direction Errors Associated with Forward, Backward, and Sideway Walking in the Context of Blind Navigation

Abstract

The ability to navigate without vision towards a previously seen target has been extensively studied, but its reliability over time has yet to be established. Our aims were to determine distance and direction errors made during blind navigation across four different directions involving three different gait patterns (stepping forward, stepping sideway, and stepping backward), and to establish the test-retest reproducibility of these errors. Twenty young healthy adults participated in two testing sessions separated by 7 days. They were shown targets located, respectively, 8 m ahead, 8 m behind, and 8 m to their right and left. With vision occluded by opaque goggles, they walked forward (target ahead), backward (target behind), and sideway (right and left targets) until they perceived to be on the target. Subjects were not provided with feedback about their performance. Walked distance, angular deviation, and body rotation were measured. The mean estimated distance error was similar across the four walking directions and ranged from 16 to 80 cm with respect to the 8 m target. In contrast, direction errors were significantly larger during sideway navigation (walking in the frontal plane: leftward, 10 degrees +/- 15 degrees deviation; rightward, 18 degrees +/- 13 degrees) than during forward and backward navigation (walking in the sagittal plane). In general, distance and direction errors were only moderately reproducible between the two sessions [intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranging from 0.682 to 0.705]. Among the four directions, rightward navigation showed the best reproducibility with ICCs ranging from 0.607 to 0.726, and backward navigation had the worst reliability with ICCs ranging from 0.094 to 0.554. These findings indicate that errors associated with blind navigation across different walking directions and involving different gait patterns are only moderately to poorly reproducible on repeated testing, especially for walking backward. The biomechanical constraints and increased cognitive loading imposed by changing the walking pattern to backward stepping may underlie the poor performance in this direction.

175 Attentional Demands During a Goal Directed Blind Navigation Task in Young and Older Adults

“…Angular deviation and body rotation were not significantly different between the navigation conditions, which is consistent with previous findings of blind navigation studies Paquet et al, 2007;Paquet et al, 2008). Without a significant change in direction parameters in the dual-task compared to the navigation alone, it is possible that subjects adopted a task prioritization strategy (Paquet et al, 2008).…”

“…The ability to reach a previously seen target while blindfolded has been investigated experimentally, using both short and long distances (Elliott, 1987;Fukusima et al, 1997;Paquet et al, 2007;Paquet et al, 2008;Rieser et al, 1990;Steenuis & Goodale, 1985;Thomson, 1983).…”

Fukuda and Babinski-Weil tests: Within-subject variability and test-retest reliability in nondisabled adults

“…However, such extreme results do represent a reality in this population and contribute to the questionable validity of these tests. Because similar observations have previously been made when young nondisabled participants were navigating without vision toward a target located 8 m away [22], it suggests that any locomotion task without vision can be very difficult to execute for some individuals. This is likely because cognition and perception of sensations play important roles in these tasks.…”

“…Distance and direction errors associated with walking without vision toward a previously seen target located 8 m away were not stable between test and retest executed 7 d later [22]. Specifically, ICC for body rotation on forward and backward blind navigation were 0.57 and 0.09, respectively.…”

The Effect of Alcohol in Visuospatial Perception and Spatial Cognition

“…Durante a navegação, os inputs visuais são utilizados para que o indivíduo ajuste sua trajetória com êxito diante dos obstáculos que possam surgir no percurso. Entretanto, a navegação também pode ser executada na ausência de visão, como nos deslocamentos no escuro ou com baixa acuidade visual (Paquet et al, 2007).…”