1 3 Exp Brain Res (2015) 233:2913–2924 DOI 10.1007/s00221-015-4361-2 RESEARCH ARTICLE When locomotion is used to interact with the environment: investigation of the link between emotions and the twofold goal-directed locomotion in humans S. Vernazza-Martin 1 · S. Longuet 2 · T. Damry 1 · J. M. Chamot 1 · V. Dru 1 Received: 26 January 2015 / Accepted: 13 June 2015 / Published online: 1 July 2015 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 analyzed using a force platform and the Vicon system. The main results suggest that the emotional valence of the inter- mediate goal has the greatest effect on the processes that organize and modulate goal-directed locomotion. A posi- tive valence facilitates cognitive processes involved in the temporal organization of locomotion. A negative valence disturbs the cognitive processes involved in the spatial organization of the locomotion and online motor control, leading to a deviating trajectory and a final body position that is more distant from the stop button. These results are discussed in line with the motivational direction hypothesis and with the affective meaning of the intended response goal. Keywords Emotions · Cognitive processes · Online motor control · Intermediate versus final goal-directed locomotion Introduction During daily activities, most motor actions are aimed at interacting with the environment and usually results in a reward value (Haggard 2005). In this context, a voluntary movement, compared with reflexes or automatisms, repre- sents the highest level of interaction with the environment and is linked to the highest reward level. A voluntary move- ment can be defined as a movement that addresses the moti- vation to achieve a goal-oriented task in a specific context (Massion 1997). Motivation is responsible for the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of an intended behavior. It is also responsible for the appetitive or aversive valence con- ferred on the goal of the action and/or elements of the envi- ronment on which this behavior is exerted (Coquery 1991). In this way, an emotion prioritizes certain goals, mobilizes Abstract Walking as a means to interact with the envi- ronment has a twofold goal: body displacement (interme- diate goal) and the future action on the environment (final representational goal). This involves different processes that plan, program, and control goal-directed locomotion linked to motivation as an “emotional state,” which leads to achieving this twofold goal. The aim of the present study was to determine whether emotional valence asso- ciated with the final representational goal influences these processes or whether they depend more on the emotional valence associated with the intermediate goal in young adults. Twenty subjects, aged 18–35 years, were instructed to erase an emotional picture that appeared on a wall as soon as they saw it. They had to press a stop button located 5 m in front of them with their right hand. Their gait was Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00221-015-4361-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * S. Vernazza-Martin sylvie.martin@u-paris10.fr S. Longuet sophie.longuet@osteobio.net T. Damry tarik.damry@gmail.com J. M. Chamot jchamot@u-paris10.fr V. Dru vincent.dru@u-paris10.fr 1 Centre de Recherche sur le Sport et le Mouvement EA 2931, UFR STAPS, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Bât S. 200 av de la République, 92000 Nanterre, France 2 Ecole supérieure de biomécanique appliquée à l’ostéopathie, Osteobio, 94230 Cachan, France