The Role of Perturbed Auditory Information for Self-motion in Gait

As people walk and interact with objects such as when opening a door, their movements make sounds. It is possible that these sounds are also used as feedback to stabilize and adapt movement. There is some evidence for such a connection between the auditory and motor systems in activities of daily living, yet the empirical work is insufficient because the role of the auditory system in movement is a relatively neglected topic. The objective of this study is to address this gap. The study will also evaluate the potential for improvements in movement stability and variability by restricting or augmenting the auditory feedback from the participants' footstep sounds.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Gait
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Auditory Feedback

Detailed Description

As people walk and interact with objects such as when opening a door, their movements make sounds. It is possible that these sounds are also used as feedback to stabilize and adapt movement. There is some evidence for such a connection between the auditory and motor systems in activities of daily living, yet the empirical work is insufficient because the role of the auditory system in movement is a relatively neglected topic. The objective of this study is to address this gap. The study will also evaluate the potential for improvements in movement stability and variability by restricting or augmenting the auditory feedback from the participants' footstep sounds. Eligibility is based on inclusion and exclusion criteria determined via a self-report questionnaire. The inclusion criteria are age and overall health status (young healthy adults, 19-35) and self-reported ability to walk comfortably for half an hour. Exclusion criteria include known hearing impairment, history of back or lower extremity injury, surgery that affects mobility, neurological disease or impairment that limits the ability to walk (Cerebral palsy). The study will randomly split the participants in a control and experimental group. Participants will perform trials in one condition only, quiet walking or control. Participants will visit the lab five times in the span of two weeks. The first and last sessions will serve for pre-post comparisons.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Dobromir Dotov, PhD; Phone Number: (531) 263-0732; Email: ddotov@unomaha.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Nebraska
    • Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68182
      • University of Nebraska-Omaha, Department of Biomechanics,
      • Contact: Dobromir Dotov, PhD; Phone Number: 402-554-4194; Email: ddotov@unomaha.edu
      • Contact: Jessica Hilt; Phone Number: 402-554-3228; Email: jessicahilt@unomaha.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 19 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• self-reported tolerance to 30 minute exercise
• self-reported ability to walk comfortably for half an hour

Exclusion Criteria:

• known hearing or visual impairment
• currently being pregnant
• history of back or lower extremity injury, surgery that affects mobility, and neurological disease or impairment that limit the ability to walk

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Walking; Walking normally without restriction
Experimental: Walking Quietly; Participants instructed to make little noise while walking.	Behavioral: Auditory Feedback; Sound amplification is used to accentuate participants' footsteps, while asking them to step softly so as to reduce this sound.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Gait instability measured with the maximum Lyapunov exponent (MLE)	The MLE is sensitive to the degree to which the gait cycle tends to diverge from its average repeated pattern. It is typically computed with the Rosenstein algorithm applied to motion-tracking data recorded while the participant is walking. More specifically, the marker is placed on the participant's upper body close to the center-of-mass. MLE equal to zero indicates a neutrally stable dynamic with perfectly repeatable oscillation. Paradoxically, this is maladaptive. Very low values of MLE close to zero tend to be associated with motor disorders. Increasingly positive values of MLE correspond to higher tolerance for dynamic instability and are associated with a healthy gait pattern. There are also exceptions, not relevant to the present study, where very high instability corresponds to specific motor disorders.	The time frame to measure changes in the outcome variable is two weeks, from the first to last measurement. The time frame to obtain one sample is a few minutes of walking.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Nebraska
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Dobromir Dotov, PhD, University of Nebraska

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 6, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 26, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): February 6, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 2, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 28, 2023
• Last Verified: September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 0794-22-EP

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: There is no plan to share personal data with other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No