Multisensory integration in complex rhythmic motor tasks

This publication-based thesis aimed to shed further light on the contributions of visual and auditory information to the execution of complex rhythmic motor tasks. To this end, a series of three empirical studies was designed. The first two studies were conducted in the experimental setting of long jumping – a task that does not only require high precision but also high velocity to leap as far as possible. Within the first study, we aimed to examine visual regulation during the long jump run-up using portable eye-tracking technology. Previous research on the topic of visual regulation in long jumping has identified a universal instance in participants’ gait behavior which introduces a rapid decrease in step variability. Since then, this parameter was considered synonymous with the (gait-based) onset of visual regulation. However, an investigation of actual visual behavior by means of direct measures was still pending to date. Hence, the first study was designed to identify a potential equivalent to the gait-based parameter within participants’ gaze behavior. Results revealed that the moment of the longest gaze on the take-off board coincided with the occurrence of the well-established gait parameter. Given that i) the gait-based visual regulation parameter has been associated with a reduction in footfall variability and ii) current research advocates the idea that fixations of longer duration facilitate motor actions, one might speculate that the longest gaze on the take-off board might as well serve the reduction of movement variability. While the parameter of visual regulation could be characterized in more detail within the first empirical investigation, the impact of other modalities has been neglected so far. However, current research is promoting the idea that, apart from visual information, auditory information might as well be crucial for the execution of motor tasks. ...