Our brains take rhythmic snapshots of the world as we walk – and we never knew

Fri, 5 Apr 2024 19:15:32 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/our-brains-take-rhythmic-snapshots-of-the-world-as-we-walk-and-we-never-knew-223009>

"For decades, psychology departments around the world have studied human
behaviour in darkened laboratories that restrict natural movement.

Our new study, published today in Nature Communications, challenges the
wisdom of this approach. With the help of virtual reality (VR), we have
revealed previously hidden aspects of perception that happen during a simple
everyday action – walking.

We found the rhythmic movement of walking changes how sensitive we are to the
surrounding environment. With every step we take, our perception cycles through
“good” and “bad” phases.

This means your smooth, continuous experience of an afternoon stroll is
deceptive. Instead, it’s as if your brain takes rhythmic snapshots of the world
– and they are synchronised with the rhythm of your footfall."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

Comment via email

Home E-Mail Sponsors Index Search About Us