Estimating and interpreting how humans prioritize multiple movement goals during walking.

The study involved only twelve healthy young adults, so findings may not apply to patient populations with movement disorders or different mobility capacities. Energy expenditure was not explicitly prompted, potentially affecting how participants prioritized it compared to visually guided goals. Self-reported importance ratings may reflect attentional focus or task novelty rather than true movement goal weights. Foot placement prompts did not elicit a linear response, suggesting participants may interpret or prioritize these goals differently.

Funded by the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University and the Raj Bhattacharyya and Samantha Heller Assistive Technology Initiative Fund. No commercial conflicts of interest are reported in the provided text.

Do not assume that gait metrics can accurately infer a patient's subjective priorities for energy conservation or walking speed. The study found weak relationships between perceived importance of these goals and their objective measures, unlike balance and foot placement which were better predicted.