title: Reducing postural sway by concurrently performing challenging cognitive tasks.
abstract: The present experiment varied cognitive complexity and sensory modality on postural control in young adults. Seventeen participants (23.71±1.99years) were instructed to stand feet together on a force platform while concurrently performing cognitive tasks of varying degrees of difficulty (easy, moderate and difficult). The cognitive tasks were presented both, auditorily and visually. Auditory tasks consisted of counting the occurrence of one or two letters and repeating a string of words. Visual tasks consisted of counting the occurrence of one or two numbers. With increasing cognitive demand, area of 95% confidence ellipse and ML sway variability was significantly reduced. The visual tasks reduced ML sway variability, whereas the auditory tasks increased COP irregularity. We suggest that these findings are primarily due to an increase in sensorimotor integration as a result of a shift in attentional focus.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 125 University Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada. Electronic address: npols098@uottawa.ca.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Polskaia
authors.affiliation: School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 125 University Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada. Electronic address: ylajoie@uottawa.ca.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lajoie
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001307:Auditory Perception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D004856:Postural Balance; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012691:Serial Learning; D014706:Verbal Learning; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive demand; Dual-task; Postural control; Sensory modality