The Journal of Neurophysiology Vol. 87 No. 2 February 2002, pp. 1142-1144
Copyright ©2002 by the American Physiological Society

RAPID COMMUNICATION

Transfer of Podokinetic Adaptation From Stepping to Hopping

 ¹Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Neuroscience Research Group, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 2T9, Canada; and  ²Balance Disorders Laboratory, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, Oregon 97006

Earhart, Gammon M., G. Melvill Jones, F. B. Horak, E. W. Block, K. D. Weber, and W. A. Fletcher. Transfer of Podokinetic Adaptation From Stepping to Hopping. J. Neurophysiol. 87: 1142-1144, 2002. Following stepping in-place on the surface of a rotating circular treadmill, a subject attempting to step in-place or walk in a straight line across the floor without vision will rotate relative to space. This adaptation, termed podokinetic after-rotation (PKAR), transfers to backward walking following forward walking on the rotating disk. We asked whether adaptation obtained during stepping in-place on the rotating disk would transfer to hopping on both feet. We hypothesized that subjects would demonstrate PKAR during both hopping and stepping, adding support to the hypothesis that PKAR is a centrally mediated adaptation of general locomotor trajectory that is not specific to the form of locomotion used while on the rotating disk. Subjects demonstrated PKAR during both hopping and stepping after stepping in-place on the rotating disk. The time courses of PKAR during hopping and stepping were similar, although the angular velocity amplitude of PKAR was lower in hopping than in stepping. This difference in amplitude suggests an incomplete transfer of PKAR.