Path width, path difficulty and optic flow differentially affect young, older adults and individuals post-stroke in a virtual cycling environment

Manipulation of features in virtual environments (VE) is known to affect behavior in the real world. We developed a virtual reality augmented cycling system and sought to determine if manipulation VE parameters modified cycling rate. We tested three groups of subjects young adults (n = 4) older adults (n = 6) and individuals post-stroke (n = 5) as they cycled in a virtual park environment while we modified optic flow, path width and path difficulty. There were no between group differences, however, groups differed when making within group comparisons. Manipulation of VE parameters differentially affected cycling behaviors of young, older and people post-stroke.