Can Optic Flow Further Stimulate Treadmill-Elicited Stepping in Newborns?

Typically developing 3-day-old newborns take significantly more forward steps on a moving treadmill belt than on a static belt. The current experiment examined whether projecting optic flows that specified forward motion onto the moving treadmill surface (black dots moving on the white treadmill surface) would further enhance forward stepping. Twenty newborns were supported on a moving treadmill without optic flow (No OF), with optic flow matching the treadmill's direction and speed (Congruent), with optic flow in the same direction but at a faster speed (Faster), and in a control condition with an incoherent optic flow moving at the same speed as in the Congruent condition but in random directions (Random).

Treadmill stimulation improves newborn stepping.

To shed further light on infant stepping, we investigated whether newborns could step on a treadmill and adapt their steps to graded velocities. Twenty-one newborns (mean = 3 days) were supported for 60 s trials on a treadmill that was static or moved at 13.4, 17.