Clinical trial NCT05713383: The Role of Perturbed Auditory Information for Self-motion in Gait
Official title: The Role of Perturbed Auditory Information for Self-motion in Gait
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: SUSPENDED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Gait
Lead sponsor: University of Nebraska
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-02-06
Enrollment: 20
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 19
Maximum age (years): 35
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: 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.

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.

Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Gait instability measured with the maximum Lyapunov exponent (MLE)
timeFrame: 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.
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Omaha
country: United States
facility: University of Nebraska-Omaha, Department of Biomechanics,
state: Nebraska
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Nebraska
name: Dobromir Dotov, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: