1
|
Berger Dauxère A, Serres JR, Montagne G. Ecological Entomology: How Is Gibson's Framework Useful? INSECTS 2021; 12:1075. [PMID: 34940163 PMCID: PMC8703479 DOI: 10.3390/insects12121075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
To date, numerous studies have demonstrated the fundamental role played by optic flow in the control of goal-directed displacement tasks in insects. Optic flow was first introduced by Gibson as part of their ecological approach to perception and action. While this theoretical approach (as a whole) has been demonstrated to be particularly suitable for the study of goal-directed displacements in humans, its usefulness in carrying out entomological field studies remains to be established. In this review we would like to demonstrate that the ecological approach to perception and action could be relevant for the entomologist community in their future investigations. This approach could provide a conceptual and methodological framework for the community in order to: (i) take a critical look at the research carried out to date, (ii) develop rigorous and innovative experimental protocols, and (iii) define scientific issues that push the boundaries of the current scientific field. After a concise literature review about the perceptual control of displacement in insects, we will present the framework proposed by Gibson and suggest its added value for carrying out research in the field of behavioral ecology in insects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aimie Berger Dauxère
- The Institute of Movement Sciences, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, ISM, CEDEX 07, 13284 Marseille, France; (J.R.S.); (G.M.)
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Aguado B, López-Moliner J. Gravity and Known Size Calibrate Visual Information to Time Parabolic Trajectories. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:642025. [PMID: 34497497 PMCID: PMC8420811 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.642025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Catching a ball in a parabolic flight is a complex task in which the time and area of interception are strongly coupled, making interception possible for a short period. Although this makes the estimation of time-to-contact (TTC) from visual information in parabolic trajectories very useful, previous attempts to explain our precision in interceptive tasks circumvent the need to estimate TTC to guide our action. Obtaining TTC from optical variables alone in parabolic trajectories would imply very complex transformations from 2D retinal images to a 3D layout. We propose based on previous work and show by using simulations that exploiting prior distributions of gravity and known physical size makes these transformations much simpler, enabling predictive capacities from minimal early visual information. Optical information is inherently ambiguous, and therefore, it is necessary to explain how these prior distributions generate predictions. Here is where the role of prior information comes into play: it could help to interpret and calibrate visual information to yield meaningful predictions of the remaining TTC. The objective of this work is: (1) to describe the primary sources of information available to the observer in parabolic trajectories; (2) unveil how prior information can be used to disambiguate the sources of visual information within a Bayesian encoding-decoding framework; (3) show that such predictions might be robust against complex dynamic environments; and (4) indicate future lines of research to scrutinize the role of prior knowledge calibrating visual information and prediction for action control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Borja Aguado
- Vision and Control of Action (VISCA) Group, Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan López-Moliner
- Vision and Control of Action (VISCA) Group, Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Hacques G, Komar J, Dicks M, Seifert L. Exploring to learn and learning to explore. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 85:1367-1379. [PMID: 32390075 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-020-01352-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In respect to ecological psychology processes of attunement and calibration, this critical review focusses on how exploratory behaviors may contribute to skilled perception and action, with particular attention to sport. Based on the theoretical insights of Gibson (The senses considered as perceptual systems, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1966) and Reed (Encountering the world: Toward an ecological psychology, Oxford University Press, New York, 1996), exploratory and performatory actions have been differentiated in numerous experiments to study the perception of opportunities of action. The distinction between exploratory and performatory actions has informed the study of infant behavior in developmental psychology. In the current article, we highlight limitations with this distinction in the study of sports performers. We propose that a dynamic view of exploratory behavior would reveal how individuals develop exploratory activity that generates information about the fit between environmental properties and action capabilities. In this aim, practitioners should: (1) give learners the opportunity to safely develop exploratory behaviors even when they act outside their action boundary; and (2) guide learners to search for more reliable information to develop exploratory behaviors that would enhance the transfer of skills to various performance contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Hacques
- Center for the Study and the Transformation of Physical Activities (CETAPS EA3832), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Rouen Normandy, UNIROUEN, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France.
| | - John Komar
- National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Matt Dicks
- School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Ludovic Seifert
- Center for the Study and the Transformation of Physical Activities (CETAPS EA3832), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Rouen Normandy, UNIROUEN, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Learning and transfer of perceptual-motor skill: Relationship with gaze and behavioral exploration. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:2303-2319. [PMID: 33759114 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02288-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Visual and haptic exploration were shown to be central modes of exploration in the development of locomotion. However, it is unclear how learning affects these modes of exploration in locomotor task such as climbing. The first aim of this study was to investigate the modifications of learners' exploratory activity during the acquisition of a perceptual-motor skill. The second aim was to determine to what extent the acquired perceptual-motor skill and the learners' exploratory activity were transferred to environments presenting novel properties. Seven participants attended 10 learning sessions on wall climbing. The effects of practice were assessed during pretest, posttest, and retention tests, each composed of four climbing routes: the route climbed during the learning sessions and three transfer routes. The transfer routes were designed by manipulating either the distance between handholds, the orientation of the handholds or the handholds shape. The results showed that the number of exploratory hand movements and fixations decreased with practice on the learning route. A visual entropy measure suggested that the gaze path in this route became more goal-directed on posttest, but some search was necessary on the retention test. The number of exploratory movements also decreased on the three transfer routes following practice, whereas the number of fixations was higher than on the learning route, suggesting that, with learning, participants relied more on exploration from a distance to adapt to the new properties of the transfer routes. Analyses of the individual performances and behaviors showed differences in the development of skilled exploratory activity.
Collapse
|
5
|
Agyei SB, van der Weel FR(R, van der Meer ALH. Development of Visual Motion Perception for Prospective Control: Brain and Behavioral Studies in Infants. Front Psychol 2016; 7:100. [PMID: 26903908 PMCID: PMC4746292 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 01/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
During infancy, smart perceptual mechanisms develop allowing infants to judge time-space motion dynamics more efficiently with age and locomotor experience. This emerging capacity may be vital to enable preparedness for upcoming events and to be able to navigate in a changing environment. Little is known about brain changes that support the development of prospective control and about processes, such as preterm birth, that may compromise it. As a function of perception of visual motion, this paper will describe behavioral and brain studies with young infants investigating the development of visual perception for prospective control. By means of the three visual motion paradigms of occlusion, looming, and optic flow, our research shows the importance of including behavioral data when studying the neural correlates of prospective control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Audrey L. H. van der Meer
- Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheim, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Zhao H, Warren WH. On-line and model-based approaches to the visual control of action. Vision Res 2014; 110:190-202. [PMID: 25454700 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2014.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2014] [Revised: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 10/09/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Two general approaches to the visual control of action have emerged in last few decades, known as the on-line and model-based approaches. The key difference between them is whether action is controlled by current visual information or on the basis of an internal world model. In this paper, we evaluate three hypotheses: strong on-line control, strong model-based control, and a hybrid solution that combines on-line control with weak off-line strategies. We review experimental research on the control of locomotion and manual actions, which indicates that (a) an internal world model is neither sufficient nor necessary to control action at normal levels of performance; (b) current visual information is necessary and sufficient to control action at normal levels; and (c) under certain conditions (e.g. occlusion) action is controlled by less accurate, simple strategies such as heuristics, visual-motor mappings, or spatial memory. We conclude that the strong model-based hypothesis is not sustainable. Action is normally controlled on-line when current information is available, consistent with the strong on-line control hypothesis. In exceptional circumstances, action is controlled by weak, context-specific, off-line strategies. This hybrid solution is comprehensive, parsimonious, and able to account for a variety of tasks under a range of visual conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huaiyong Zhao
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
| | - William H Warren
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Hosking SG, Davey CE, Kaiser MK. Visual cues for manual control of headway. Front Behav Neurosci 2013; 7:45. [PMID: 23750130 PMCID: PMC3659366 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2012] [Accepted: 04/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to maintain appropriate gaps to objects in one's environment is important when navigating through a three-dimensional world. Previous research has shown that the visual angle subtended by a lead/approaching object and its rate of change are important variables for timing interceptions, collision avoidance, continuous regulation of braking, and manual control of headway. However, investigations of headway maintenance have required participants to maintain a fixed distance headway and have not investigated how information about own-speed is taken into account. In the following experiment, we asked participants to use a joystick to follow computer-simulated lead objects. The results showed that ground texture, following speed, and the size of the lead object had significant effects on both mean following distances and following distance variance. Furthermore, models of the participants' joystick responses provided better fits when it was assumed that the desired visual extent of the lead object would vary over time. Taken together, the results indicate that while information about own-speed is used by controllers to set the desired headway to a lead object, the continuous regulation of headway is influenced primarily by the visual angle of the lead object and its rate of change. The reliance on visual angle, its rate of change, and/or own-speed information also varied depending on the control dynamics of the system. Such findings are consistent with an optimal control criterion that reflects a differential weighting on different sources of information depending on the plant dynamics. As in other judgements of motion in depth, the information used for controlling headway to other objects in the environment varies depending on the constraints of the task and different strategies of control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simon G. Hosking
- Air Operations Division, Defence Science and Technology OrganisationFishermans Bend, VIC Australia
| | - Catherine E. Davey
- Air Operations Division, Defence Science and Technology OrganisationFishermans Bend, VIC Australia
| | - Mary K. Kaiser
- Human Systems Integration Division, NASA Ames Research CenterMoffett Field, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Higuchi T. Visuomotor control of human adaptive locomotion: understanding the anticipatory nature. Front Psychol 2013; 4:277. [PMID: 23720647 PMCID: PMC3655271 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2013] [Accepted: 04/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
To maintain balance during locomotion, the central nervous system (CNS) accommodates changes in the constraints of spatial environment (e.g., existence of an obstacle or changes in the surface properties). Locomotion while modifying the basic movement patterns in response to such constraints is referred to as adaptive locomotion. The most powerful means of ensuring balance during adaptive locomotion is to visually perceive the environmental properties at a distance and modify the movement patterns in an anticipatory manner to avoid perturbation altogether. For this reason, visuomotor control of adaptive locomotion is characterized, at least in part, by its anticipatory nature. The purpose of the present article is to review the relevant studies which revealed the anticipatory nature of the visuomotor control of adaptive locomotion. The anticipatory locomotor adjustments for stationary and changeable environment, as well as the spatio-temporal patterns of gaze behavior to support the anticipatory locomotor adjustments are described. Such description will clearly show that anticipatory locomotor adjustments are initiated when an object of interest (e.g., a goal or obstacle) still exists in far space. This review also show that, as a prerequisite of anticipatory locomotor adjustments, environmental properties are accurately perceived from a distance in relation to individual’s action capabilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Higuchi
- Department of Health Promotion Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University Tokyo, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Environmental constraints modify the way an interceptive action is controlled. Exp Brain Res 2010; 202:397-411. [PMID: 20058151 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-009-2147-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2009] [Accepted: 12/15/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This study concerns the process by which agents select control laws. Participants adjusted their walking speed in a virtual environment in order to intercept approaching targets. Successful interception can be achieved with a constant bearing angle (CBA) strategy that relies on prospective information, or with a modified required velocity (MRV) strategy, which also includes predictive information. We manipulated the curvature of the target paths and the display condition of these paths. The curvature manipulation had large effects on the walking kinematics when the target paths were not displayed (informationally poor display). In contrast, the walking kinematics were less affected by the curvature manipulation when the target paths were displayed (informationally rich display). This indicates that participants used an MRV strategy in the informationally rich display and a CBA strategy in the informationally poor display. Quantitative fits of the respective models confirm this information-driven switch between the use of a strategy that relies on prospective information and a strategy that includes predictive information. We conclude that agents are able of taking advantage of available information by selecting a suitable control law.
Collapse
|
10
|
Mulder M, van der Vaart HJ.C. An Information-Center ed Analysis of the Tunnel-in-the-Sky Display, Part 3: The Interception of Curved Trajectories. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1207/s15327108ijap1601_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
|
11
|
Stoffregen TA, Yang CM, Bardy BG. Affordance Judgments and Nonlocomotor Body Movement. ECOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2005. [DOI: 10.1207/s15326969eco1702_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
|
12
|
Tresilian JR, Wallis GM, Mattocks C. Initiation of evasive manoeuvres during self-motion: a test of three hypotheses. Exp Brain Res 2004; 159:251-7. [PMID: 15549280 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-004-1994-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2003] [Accepted: 05/25/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
To understand performance of evasive and interceptive actions it is important to know how people decide when to initiate a movement-initiating at the 'right' moment is often essential for successful performance. It has been proposed that initiation is triggered when a perceptually derived quantity reaches an invariant criterion value. Candidate quantities include time-to-collision (TTC), distance, and rate of image expansion (ROE), all of which have received empirical support. We studied initiation of an evasive manoeuvre in a computer-simulated steering task in which the observer was required to steer through a stationary visual environment and avoid colliding with an obstacle in their path. The results could not be explained by hypotheses which propose that evasive manoeuvre initiation is based on a fixed criterion value of TTC or distance. The overall pattern was, however, consistent with the use of a criterion ROE value. This was further tested by analyses designed to directly evaluate whether the ROE value used to initiate the response was the same across experimental conditions. Only two of the six participants showed evidence for using the ROE strategy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James R Tresilian
- Perception & Motor Systems Laboratory, School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, Australia.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Chardenon A, Montagne G, Laurent M, Bootsma RJ. The perceptual control of goal-directed locomotion: a common control architecture for interception and navigation? Exp Brain Res 2004; 158:100-8. [PMID: 15042262 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-004-1880-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2003] [Accepted: 02/10/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Intercepting a moving object while locomoting is a highly complex and demanding ability. Notwithstanding the identification of several informational candidates, the role of perceptual variables in the control process underlying such skills remains an open question. In this study we used a virtual reality set-up for studying locomotor interception of a moving ball. The subject had to walk along a straight path and could freely modify forward velocity, if necessary, in order to intercept-with the head-a ball moving along a straight path that led it to cross the agent's displacement axis. In a series of experiments we manipulated a local (ball size) and a global (focus of expansion) component of the visual flow but also the egocentric orientation of the ball. The experimental observations are well captured by a dynamic model linking the locomotor acceleration to properties of both global flow and egocentric direction. More precisely the changes in locomotor velocity depend on a linear combination of the change in bearing angle and the change in egocentric orientation, allowing the emergence of adaptive behavior under a variety of circumstances. We conclude that the mechanisms underlying the control of different goal-directed locomotion tasks (i.e. steering and interceptive tasks) could share a common architecture.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Chardenon
- UMR Movement and Perception, University of the Mediterranean, Marseille, France
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Caljouw SR, van der Kamp J, Savelsbergh GJP. Timing of goal-directed hitting: impact requirements change the information-movement coupling. Exp Brain Res 2004; 155:135-44. [PMID: 15010898 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-003-1705-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2003] [Accepted: 09/02/2003] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In hitting, performers are found to adapt to the approach speed of the ball, i.e. they tend to initiate their movement at a shorter time before contact for faster approaching balls. A change in movement time is always accompanied by a change in movement velocity when the movement trajectory is kept constant. Hence, a fast-approaching ball might induce high impact velocity that is in conflict with low impact constraints, such as propelling the ball towards a near goal. In this study we investigated the capacities of participants to perform one-dimensional hitting movements in the frontal plane to balls approaching on a head-on collision course. The temporal precision (i.e. ball approach speed: 1, 1.5, and 2 m/s) and impact requirements (i.e. No-Goal, Near-Goal, and Far-Goal) were manipulated to examine the influence of task constraints on the temporal regulation of a stroke. The results showed that timing and speed were significantly affected by ball approach speed when the hit was not directed to a goal. In contrast, no speed-coupling and a constant time-to-impact strategy were found when impact velocity was constrained (i.e. aiming for a near goal). We were particularly interested in the nature and relation of information sources and timing patterns of movement initiation. Therefore, the relation between the time evolution of three optical sources related to the approach of the ball and the observed patterns of swing onset were evaluated quantitatively. The analyses revealed that a viable explanation for the two observed qualitatively different onset patterns of the swing is a regulation based on the absolute rate of expansion or a co-varying variable. The flexible adaptation of timing to impact constraints may be realized by an adjustment of the critical region of this optical variable.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simone R Caljouw
- Perceptual-Motor Control: Development, Learning and Performance Group, Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
|
16
|
|