Loudness affects motion: asymmetric volume of auditory feedback results in asymmetric gait in healthy young adults

Background The potential of auditory feedback for motor learning in the rehabilitation of various diseases has become apparent in recent years. However, since the volume of auditory feedback has played a minor role so far and its influence has hardly been considered, we investigate the volume effect of auditory feedback on gait pattern and gait direction and its interaction with pitch. Methods Thirty-two healthy young participants were randomly divided into two groups: Group 1 (n = 16) received a high pitch (150-250 Hz) auditory feedback; group 2 (n = 16) received a lower pitch (95-112 Hz) auditory feedback. The feedback consisted of a real-time sonification of the right and left foot ground contact. After an initial condition (no auditory feedback and full vision), both groups realized a 30-minute habituation period followed by a 30-minute asymmetry period. At any condition, the participants were asked to walk blindfolded and with auditory feedback towards a target at 15 m distance and were stopped 5 m before the target. Three different volume conditions were applied in random order during the habituation period: loud, normal, and quiet. In the subsequent asymmetry period, the three volume conditions baseline, right quiet and left quiet were applied in random order. Results In the habituation phase, the step width from the loud to the quiet condition showed a significant interaction of volume*pitch with a decrease at high pitch (group 1) and an increase at lower pitch (group 2) (group 1: loud 1.02 +/- 0.310, quiet 0.98 +/- 0.301; group 2: loud 0.95 +/- 0.229, quiet 1.11 +/- 0.298). In the asymmetry period, a significantly increased ground contact time on the side with reduced volume could be found (right quiet: left foot 0.988 +/- 0.033, right foot 1.003 +/- 0.040, left quiet: left foot 1.004 +/- 0.036, right foot 1.002 +/- 0.033). Conclusions Our results suggest that modifying the volume of auditory feedback can be an effective way to improve gait symmetry. This could facilitate gait therapy and rehabilitation of hemiparetic and arthroplasty patients, in particular if gait improvement based on verbal corrections and conscious motor control is limited.