Ann Rehabil Med.  2013 Jun;37(3):347-354. 10.5535/arm.2013.37.3.347.

Sequential Analysis of Postural Control Resource Allocation During a Dual Task Test

• Hwang JH
• Lee CH
• Chang HJ
• Park DS

• KMID: 2219531
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2013.37.3.347

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the postural control factors influencing the automatic (reflex-controlled) and attentional (high cortical) factors on dual task.
METHODS
We used a dual task model to examine the attentional factors affecting the control of posture, subjecting test subjects to vibration stimulation, one-leg standing and verbal or nonverbal task trials. Twenty-three young, healthy participants were asked to stand on force plates and their centers of pressure were measured during dual task trials. We acquired 15 seconds of data for each volunteer during six dual task trials involving varying task combinations.
RESULTS
We observed significantly different sway patterns between the early and late phases of dual task trials, which probably reflect the attentional demands. Vibration stimulation perturbed sway more during the early than the late phases; with or without vibration stimulation, the addition of secondary tasks decreased sway in all phases, and greater decreases in sway were observed in the late phases, when subjects were assigned nonverbal tasks. Less sway was observed during the nonverbal task in a sequential study.
CONCLUSION
The attentional and automatic factors were analyzed during a sequential study. By controlling the postural control factors, optimal parameters and training methods might be used in clinical applications.

Keyword

Task performance; Analysis; Postural balance; Attention

MeSH Terms

Postural Balance
Posture
Resource Allocation
Task Performance and Analysis
Vibration

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Comparison among the total summation of distance of center of pressure during 6 trials. *Denotes significant differences between different secondary tasks (none and verbal, none and nonverbal). †Denotes significant differences between none and Vibration.

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  Fig. 2 The amount of sway per second with or without vibration during one-leg standing trials. viS, stands for vibration and one-leg standing as the dual task; S, stands for one-leg standing only as the primary task; COP, stands for the center of pressure distance. *Denotes significant differences between viS and S.

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  Fig. 3 The amount of sway per second with secondary tasks during one-leg standing trials. COP, stands for the center of pressure distance; S, stands for one-leg standing as the primary task; Sv, stands for one-leg standing as the primary task and a verbal task as the secondary task; Snv, stands for one-leg standing as the primary task and a nonverbal task as the secondary task. *Denotes significant differences between Sv and Snv. †Denotes significant differences between viS and viSv.

• 

  Fig. 4 The amount of sway per second with secondary tasks during one-leg standing trials with vibration. COP, stands for the center of pressure distance; viS, stands for vibration and one-leg standing as the primary task; viSv, stands for vibration and one-leg standing as the primary task and a verbal task as the secondary task; viSnv, stands for vibration and one-leg standing as the primary task and a nonverbal task as the secondary task. *Denotes significant differences between viS and viSnv. †Denotes significant differences between viS and viSv. ‡Denotes significant differences between viSv and viSnv.

• 

  Fig. 5 The amount of sway per second with or without vibration during one-leg standing trials with nonverbal task. COP, stands for the center of pressure distance; viSnv, stands for vibration and one-leg standing as the primary task and a nonverbal task as the secondary task; Snv, stands for one-leg standing as the primary task and a nonverbal task as the secondary task.

• 

  Fig. 6 The amount of sway per second with or without vibration during one-leg standing trials with verbal task. COP, stands for the center of pressure distance; viSv, stands for vibration and one-leg standing as the primary task and a verbal task as the secondary task; Sv, stands for one-leg standing as the primary task and a verbal task as the secondary task.

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