Attentional demands for static postural control after stroke.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the attentional demands associated with postural control among people who have had a stroke.


METHODS
Nonrandomized matched case-control study.


METHODS
University research laboratory in Canada.


METHODS
Six individuals who had suffered a left or right cerebral ischemic attack in the past year and a sample of 6 age- and gender-matched controls. Participants in the stroke group had a mean age of 64.17+/-13.14 years; control participants had a mean age of 64.00+/-13.91 years. Mean National Institute of Health Stroke Scale scores for these patients were 7.67+/-4.92 at the time of stroke and 1.66+/-1.36 at the time of testing. None of the patients were taking medications that would alter cognitive status or balance abilities.


METHODS
Participants performed a verbal reaction-time test while engaged in 3 postural tasks (sitting, standing, standing with feet together).


METHODS
Reaction time: latency between visual stimulus and verbal response.


RESULTS
Reaction times in the stroke group differed significantly in all conditions from the controls (410+/-72 ms vs 320+/-54 ms, P<.01). A significant interaction was found between group and postural task (P=.05), with reaction-time scores showing a progressive increase in postural task difficulty among participants who had suffered a stroke. Post hoc comparisons revealed that sitting reaction-time scores were significantly slower than reaction-time scores for feet together standing (P=.008) among participants in the stroke group.


CONCLUSIONS
Individuals who have suffered a stroke showed increased attentional demands for tasks of static postural control compared with healthy, age-matched participants.
Brown
Lesley A
LA
Balance Research Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alb, Canada. l.brown@uleth.ca
Sleik
Ryan J
RJ
Winder
Toni R
TR
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance; D011187:Posture; D011930:Reaction Time; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation