title: Dual-tasking postural control in patients with right brain damage.
abstract: The control of dual-tasking effects is a daily challenge in stroke neurorehabilitation. It maybe one of the reasons why there is poor functional prognosis after a stroke in the right hemisphere, which plays a dominant role in posture control. The purpose of this study was to explore cognitive motor interference in right brain-lesioned and healthy subjects maintaining a standing position while performing three different tasks: a control task, a simple attentional task and a complex attentional task. We measured the sway area of the subjects on a force platform, including the center of pressure and its displacements. Results showed that stroke patients presented a reduced postural sway compared to healthy subjects, who were able to maintain their posture while performing a concomitant attentional task in the same dual-tasking conditions. Moreover, in both groups, the postural sway decreased with the increase in attentional load from cognitive tasks. We also noticed that the stability of stroke patients in dual-tasking conditions increased together with the weight-bearing rightward deviation, especially when the attentional load of the cognitive tasks and lower limb motor impairments were high. These results suggest that stroke patients and healthy subjects adopt a similar postural regulation pattern aimed at maintaining stability in dual-tasking conditions involving a static standing position and different attention-related cognitive tasks. Our results indicate that attention processes might facilitate static postural control.
authors.affiliation: Service de Rééducation et de Réadaptation Fonctionnelle, Clinique Les Trois Soleils, Boissise le Roi, France. Electronic address: c.bourlon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Clémence
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bourlon
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lehenaff
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Batifoulier
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bordier
authors.forename: Aurélia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chatenet
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Desailly
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fouchard
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marsal
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rastelli
authors.forename: Anaïs
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thierry
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bartolomeo
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duret
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
keywords: Attentional tasks; Dual-tasking; Postural control; Standing; Stroke