Effects of multi-obstacle contexts on obstacle negotiation strategies in healthy older adults under dual-task conditions.

Background: Performance of obstacle crossing is an attentionally demanding task due to the need for motor planning and gait regulation, particularly among older adults. Despite extensive studies on age-associated changes in obstacle negotiation strategies, relatively little is known about adaptive mechanisms in the elderly regarding multiple obstacle crossings with different execution demands.

Research Question: For better understanding of avoidance strategies employed by the elderly, the current study investigated adaptive mechanisms related to planning and implementation of more complex multi-obstacle contexts.

Compensatory postural responses to backward loss of balance in patients with cerebellar disease.

Background: Impaired control of balance and coordinated reactions are a primary deficit of cerebellar dysfunction. As compared to other neurological patients with balance impairments, there has been little research assessing the characteristics of compensatory responses associated with falls in patients with cerebellar disease (CD).

Research Question: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of cerebellar disease on compensatory balance control in response to postural perturbation.

The Development of Infants' Sensitivity to Behavioral Intentions when Inferring Others' Social Preferences.

The present study investigated whether infants reason about others' social preferences based on the intentions of others' interactive actions. In Experiment 1, 12-month-old infants were familiarized with an event in which an agent either successfully helped a circle to climb up a hill (successful-helping condition) or failed to help the circle to achieve its goal (failed-helping condition). During the test, the infants saw the circle approach either the helper (approach-helper event) or the hinderer (approach-hinderer event).