Give and take: learning to use asymmetry to reduce energy cost during walking

Dr. Finley’s research focuses on the neuromechanics and control of healthy and pathological gait. He was the first to demonstrate that learned behaviours observed during adaptation to walking on a split belt treadmill are likely driven by a preference for economical gaits. Here he will present recent work demonstrating that this energy optimization arises from people learning to take advantage of assistance from the split-belt treadmill.