The role of retinal flow in walking.
8 affiliations
- 1Center for Perceptual Systems, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- 2[email protected]
- 3[email protected]
- 4[email protected]
- 5Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
- 6[email protected]
- 7Present address: University of Texas at Austin, Center for Perceptual Systems, 108 E Dean Keeton St 5.564, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- 8[email protected]
Abstract
Both visual direction and optic flow have been implicated in walking toward a goal in experiments that use prisms to alter visual direction. However, prisms bias retinal flow patterns in ways that might affect the path chosen. We used a prism manipulation in virtual reality for goal-directed walking, where we manipulated the location of texture-defined flow as well as the direction of gaze. The addition of texture straightened paths, but primarily when it provided flow on the ground plane. Texture confined to the ground straightened paths similar to full-scene texture, whereas wall-only texture produced little straightening. This finding reveals a disproportionate contribution of motion generated on the ground plane to control locomotion, potentially reflecting higher retinal speeds and the prism-induced rotations in the lower visual field. This suggests that, when visual direction is manipulated by a prism, trajectories might result from unexpected motion patterns, leading to compensatory foot placement. Thus trajectories may be shaped by complex interactions between goal direction, gaze, and local retinal motion patterns.
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BibTeX
@article{powell2026role,
title = {{The role of retinal flow in walking.}},
author = {Nathaniel V. Powell and Daniel Panfili and Youjin Oh and Jonathan Samir Matthis and Mary Hayhoe},
journal = {Journal of vision},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1167/jov.26.10.6},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42836725},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The role of retinal flow in walking.
AU - Nathaniel V. Powell
AU - Daniel Panfili
AU - Youjin Oh
AU - Jonathan Samir Matthis
AU - Mary Hayhoe
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Journal of vision
DO - 10.1167/jov.26.10.6
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42836725
AB - Both visual direction and optic flow have been implicated in walking toward a goal in experiments that use prisms to alter visual direction. However, prisms bias retinal flow patterns in ways that might affect the path chosen. We used a prism manipulation in virtual reality for goal-directed walking, where we manipulated the location of texture-defined flow as well as the direction of gaze. The addition of texture straightened paths, but primarily when it provided flow on the ground plane. Texture confined to the ground straightened paths similar to full-scene texture, whereas wall-only texture produced little straightening. This finding reveals a disproportionate contribution of motion generated on the ground plane to control locomotion, potentially reflecting higher retinal speeds and the prism-induced rotations in the lower visual field. This suggests that, when visual direction is manipulated by a prism, trajectories might result from unexpected motion patterns, leading to compensatory foot placement. Thus trajectories may be shaped by complex interactions between goal direction, gaze, and local retinal motion patterns.
SN - 1534-7362
ER -