Retaining fractal gait patterns learned in virtual environments

Fractal patterns in gait are a hallmark of a healthy and adaptive locomotor system. These fractal patterns degrade with natural aging or pathology, potentially reflecting a decline in gait functionality. This experiment replicated our previous work that indicated fractal patterns in gait could be manipulated by synchronizing to fractal visual stimuli presented in virtual reality and examined factors that may influence retention. Visual stimuli that were presented at discrete time intervals led to retained fractal patterns in gait, whereas continuously presented visual stimuli did not lead to retention.