scholarly journals Anteroposterior and mediolateral postural adaptations during single and duals tasks in healthy young adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 84-91
Author(s):  
Martin G. Rosario ◽  
Aleena Jose
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Dual Tasks ◽  
Sensory Reweighting ◽  
Considerable Distance ◽  
Balance Tests ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Dual tasks are fundamental and standard for daily walking and balance movements. However, further research is required to determine the comprehensive postural profile during challenging dual cognitive tasks. To distinguish the influence of dual cognitive tasks on anterior-posterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) jerk (direction of sway), velocity, and distance in young adults with normal balance systems. Nineteen subjects took part in this inquiry (2 males and 17 females), with a mean age of 23.9+\- 2.3 years. The participants were instrumented using a lumbar accelerometer and a dynamometer designed to capture sway. All subjects completed eight balance tests comprising four single and four dual-cognitive tasks involving counting backward by three, starting at the number 100 (dual-task). Postural modifications were prominent in the AP direction, with a faster jerk, velocity, and considerable distance than in the ML direction. The introduction to challenging balance situations, including dual tasks, provoke AP direction adaptations to preserve balance through variations in AP parameters, indicating the engagement of the sensory reweighting system.

THE RELIABILITY OF CLINICAL BALANCE TESTS UNDER SINGLE-TASK AND DUAL-TASK TESTING PARADIGMS IN UNINJURED ACTIVE YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-500
Author(s):  
Thaer S. Manaseer ◽  
Jackie L. Whittaker ◽  
Codi Isaac ◽  
Kathryn Schneider ◽  
Mary Roduta Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Balance Tests ◽  
Youth And Young Adults

scholarly journals A-25 The Effect of Cognitive Dual-Tasks on Dynamic Postural Sway During Sub-Maximal Gait on a Treadmill

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-621
Author(s):  
M A Kelly ◽  
N Morelli ◽  
H L Clayton ◽  
A M Parks ◽  
N R Heebner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Dual Tasks ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Dual Task Condition ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Abstract Objective To investigate the effect of a cognitive task on postural control during treadmill walking. We hypothesized that postural sway acceleration would decrease during dual-task compared to single-task gait. Method Ten (5 females, 5 males) physically active, healthy young adults (Age: 22.50 ± 3.01) with no history of cognitive deficits or head injury were recruited from a University campus for this cross-sectional study. Participants reported to a biomechanics laboratory for a single testing session and completed two, 5-minute walking trials on a treadmill at 90% of maximal gait-speed under single and dual-task conditions while instrumented with a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) on the lower-back. During dual-task gait, participants concurrently performed a Stroop Test displayed on a mounted screen in front of the treadmill during the entire trial. Root mean square (RMS) of acceleration was analyzed in the medial-lateral, anterior-posterior, superior-inferior, and resultant planes during the dual-task trial. Paired t-tests and effect sizes (ES) were calculated for each sway plane between single and dual-tasks. Results No differences were identified between single and dual-task RMS acceleration in the medial-lateral (p = 0.98, ES = 0.01), anterior-posterior (p = 0.49, ES = 0.23) or superior-inferior (p = 0.98, ES = 0.01) planes. However, the RMS acceleration in the resultant plane was lower in the dual-task condition (Mean Difference: 0.031 ± 0.037; p = 0.02, ES = 0.85). Conclusions This novel dual-task gait paradigm utilized constant sub-maximal gait speed to investigate the influence of a sustained cognitive dual-task on postural sway using a single IMU. These preliminary results indicate that this dual-task gait paradigm may affect gross postural sway in healthy adults.

scholarly journals Task matters: an investigation on the effect of different secondary tasks on dual-task gait in older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Ting Goh ◽  
Miranda Pearce ◽  
Asha Vas
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Secondary Tasks ◽  
Task Conditions

Abstract Background Dual-task gait performance declines as humans age, leading to increased fall risk among older adults. It is unclear whether different secondary cognitive tasks mediate age-related decline in dual-task gait. This study aimed to examine how type and difficulty level of the secondary cognitive tasks differentially affect dual-task gait in older adults. Methods Twenty young and twenty older adults participated in this single-session study. We employed four different types of secondary tasks and each consisted of two difficulty levels, yielding eight different dual-task conditions. The dual-task conditions included walking and 1) counting backward by 3 s or by 7 s; 2) remembering a 5-item or 7-item lists; 3) responding to a simple or choice reaction time tasks; 4) generating words from single or alternated categories. Gait speed and cognitive task performance under single- and dual-task conditions were used to compute dual-task cost (DTC, %) with a greater DTC indicating a worse performance. Results A significant three-way interaction was found for the gait speed DTC (p = .04). Increased difficulty in the reaction time task significantly increased gait speed DTC for older adults (p = .01) but not for young adults (p = .90). In contrast, increased difficulty level in the counting backward task significantly increased gait speed DTC for young adults (p = .03) but not for older adults (p = .85). Both groups responded similarly to the increased task difficulty in the other two tasks. Conclusions Older adults demonstrated a different response to dual-task challenges than young adults. Aging might have different impacts on various cognitive domains and result in distinctive dual-task gait interference patterns.

scholarly journals An fNIRS Investigation of Discrete and Continuous Cognitive Demands During Dual-Task Walking in Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabassum Tahmina Rahman ◽  
Nadia Polskaia ◽  
Gabrielle St-Amant ◽  
Talia Salzman ◽  
Diana Tobón Vallejo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Attentional Demands ◽  
Time Accuracy

Introduction: Dual-task studies have demonstrated that walking is attention-demanding for younger adults. However, numerous studies have attributed this to task type rather than the amount of required to accomplish the task. This study examined four tasks: two discrete (i.e., short intervals of attention) and two continuous (i.e., sustained attention) to determine whether greater attentional demands result in greater dual-task costs due to an overloaded processing capacity.Methods: Nineteen young adults (21.5 ± 3.6 years, 13 females) completed simple reaction time (SRT) and go/no-go (GNG) discrete cognitive tasks and n-back (NBK) and double number sequence (DNS) continuous cognitive tasks with or without self-paced walking. Prefrontal cerebral hemodynamics were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and performance was measured using response time, accuracy, and gait speed.Results: Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed decreased accuracy with increasing cognitive demands (p = 0.001) and increased dual-task accuracy costs (p < 0.001). Response times were faster during the single compared to dual-tasks during the SRT (p = 0.005) and NBK (p = 0.004). DNS gait speed was also slower in the dual compared to single task (p < 0.001). Neural findings revealed marginally significant interactions between dual-task walking and walking alone in the DNS (p = 0.06) and dual -task walking compared to the NBK cognitive task alone (p = 0.05).Conclusion: Neural findings suggest a trend towards increased PFC activation during continuous tasks. Cognitive and motor measures revealed worse performance during the discrete compared to continuous tasks. Future studies should consider examining different attentional demands of motor tasks.

scholarly journals Virtual reality‐based assessment of cognitive‐locomotor interference in healthy young adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Deblock-Bellamy ◽  
Anouk Lamontagne ◽  
Bradford J. McFadyen ◽  
Marie-Christine Ouellet ◽  
Andreanne K. Blanchette
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Minimal Distance ◽  
Virtual Agent

Abstract Background A recent literature review emphasized the importance of assessing dual-task (DT) abilities with tasks that are representative of community ambulation. Assessing DT ability in real-life activities using standardized protocols remains difficult. Virtual reality (VR) may represent an interesting alternative enabling the exposure to different scenarios simulating community walking. To better understand dual-task abilities in everyday life activities, the aims of this study were (1) to assess locomotor and cognitive dual-task cost (DTC) during representative daily living activities, using VR, in healthy adults; and 2) to explore the influence of the nature and complexity of locomotor and cognitive tasks on DTC. Methods Fifteen healthy young adults (24.9 ± 2.7 years old, 8 women) were recruited to walk in a virtual 100 m shopping mall corridor, while remembering a 5-item list (DT condition), using an omnidirectional platform and a VR headset. Two levels of difficulty were proposed for the locomotor task (with vs. without virtual agent avoidance) and for the cognitive task (with vs. without items modification). These tasks were also performed in single task (ST) condition. Locomotor and cognitive DTC were measured by comparing performances in ST and DT conditions. Locomotor performance was characterized using walking speed, walking fluidity, and minimal distance between the participant and the virtual agent during avoidance. Cognitive performance was assessed with the number of items correctly recalled. Presence of DTC were determined with one-sample Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. To explore the influence of the tasks’ complexity and nature on DTC, a nonparametric two-way repeated measure ANOVA was performed. Results No locomotor interference was measured for any of the outcomes. A cognitive DTC of 6.67% was measured (p = .017) while participants performed simultaneously both complex locomotor and cognitive tasks. A significant interaction between locomotor task complexity and cognitive task nature (p = .002) was identified on cognitive DTC. Conclusions In challenging locomotor and cognitive conditions, healthy young adults present DTC in cognitive accuracy, which was influenced by the locomotor task complexity task and the cognitive task nature. A similar VR-based protocol might be used to investigate DT abilities in older adults and individuals with a stroke.

scholarly journals Slowed sensory reweighting and postural illusions in older adults: the moving platform illusion

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 690-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chesney E. Craig ◽  
Michail Doumas
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Sensory Reweighting ◽  
Perceptual Illusion ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Illusory Perception

We investigated whether postural aftereffects witnessed during transitions from a moving to a stable support are accompanied by a delayed perception of platform stabilization in older adults, in two experiments. In experiment 1, postural sway and muscle cocontraction were assessed in 11 healthy young, 11 healthy older, and 11 fall-prone older adults during blindfolded stance on a fixed platform, followed by a sway-referenced platform and then by a fixed platform again. The sway-referenced platform was more compliant for young adults, to induce similar levels of postural sway in both age groups. Participants were asked to press a button whenever they perceived that the platform had stopped moving. Both older groups showed significantly larger and longer postural sway aftereffects during platform stabilization compared with young adults, which were pronounced in fall-prone older adults. In both older groups elevated muscle cocontraction aftereffect was also witnessed. Importantly, these aftereffects were accompanied by an illusory perception of prolonged platform movement. After this, experiment 2 examined whether this illusory perception was a robust age effect or an experimental confound due to greater surface compliance in young adults, which could create a larger perceptual discrepancy between moving and stable conditions. Despite exposure to the same surface compliance levels during sway-reference, the perceptual illusion was maintained in experiment 2 in a new group of 14 healthy older adults compared with 11 young adults. In both studies, older adults took five times longer than young adults to perceive platform stabilization. This supports that sensory reweighting is inefficient in older adults. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first paper to show that postural sway aftereffects witnessed in older adults after platform stabilization may be due to a perceptual illusion of platform movement. Surprisingly, in both experiments presented it took older adults five times longer than young adults to perceive platform stabilization. This supports a hypothesis of less efficient sensory reintegration in this age group, which may delay the formation of an accurate postural percept.

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