Optic Flow: A Step in the Right Direction

Hugo Bruggeman
Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences
Brown University

I study dynamic perception; the flow of information generated with
movement and action. I am especially interested in how such information
might be used to guide and calibrate movement and action.

I consider a nervous system somewhat like a leaky vessel; some information
regarding movement guidance and calibration appears to dissipate. For
example, when you repeatedly reach for a mug in a virtual reality
environment--where you can neither see your hand nor feel the mug--the
reaches tend to drift over trials and increasingly underestimate the mug's
position.

I believe that this form of forgetting, as manifested by the drift, is a
desirable feature of our nervous system. To prevent the occurrence of
drift, it needs permanent updating by information flow from dynamic
perception. Not only does such updating ensure that it can control
movement accurately and precisely, it also allows the nervous system to
adjust control to changes due to body growth, impairment, and to
variations in the environment.

In this talk, I will elaborate on the above issues by revealing how optic
flow plays a dominant role in the guidance and calibration of the
direction of locomotion.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071115121131.htm