title: Prioritizing attention on a reaction time task improves postural control and reaction time.
abstract: Flexible and appropriate allocation of attention resources is important during dual-tasking to achieve task goals while maintaining postural safety. This pilot study aimed to examine the influence of explicit prioritization of attention on the dual-task paradigm by employing two levels of difficulty for the postural tasks and reaction time (RT) tasks in healthy young adults. The task entailed standing on a force platform on two feet or on one foot, attending to posture or RT, and completing a simple or choice RT task. Participants verbally responded "top" as soon as the light cue illuminated. In general, attending to RT produced faster RTs (F(1,19) = 30.9, p < 0.001) and improved center of pressure (COP) Displacement (F(1,19) = 5.1, p < 0.05) and 95% Area Ellipse (F(1,19) = 7.1, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that prioritizing attention away from posture may be beneficial for postural performance when completing a second task.
authors.affiliation: 1School of Human Kinetics , and.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jehu
authors.forename: Alyssa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Desponts
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Paquet
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lajoie
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D011312:Pressure; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: center of pressure; dual-task; prioritization; reaction time; task complexity