title: Effects of a single-task versus a dual-task paradigm on cognition and balance in healthy subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent evidence has revealed deficiencies in the ability to divide attention after concussion.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effects of a single vs a dual task on cognition and balance in healthy subjects and to examine reliability of 2 dual-task paradigms while examining the overall feasibility of the tasks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pretest-posttest experimental design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sports medicine research laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  30 healthy, recreationally active college students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects performed balance and cognitive tasks under the single- and dual-task conditions during 2 test sessions 14 d apart.
  
  
  METHODS
  The procedural reaction-time (PRT) test of the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (eyes-closed tasks) and an adapted Procedural Auditory Task (PAT; eyes-open tasks) were used to assess cognition. The NeuroCom Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) were used to assess balance performance. Five 2-way, within-subject ANOVAs and a paired-samples t test were used to analyze the data. ICCs were used to assess reliability across 2 test sessions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On the SOT, performance significantly improved between test sessions (F1,29 = 35.695, P < .001) and from the single to the dual task (F1,29 = 9.604, P = .004). On the PRT, performance significantly improved between test sessions (F1,29 = 57.252, P < .001) and from the single to the dual task (F1,29 = 7.673, P = .010). No differences were seen on the BESS and the PAT. Reliability across test sessions ranged from moderate to poor for outcome measure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The BESS appears to be a more reliable and functional tool in dual-task conditions as a result of its increased reliability and clinical applicability. In addition, the BESS is more readily available to clinicians than the SOT.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Luke M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Johna K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Register-Mihalik
authors.forename: Jason P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mihalik
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: McCulloch
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Prentice
authors.forename: Edgar W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Guskiewicz
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult