Research Information System
Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, vol.82, no.1, pp.3-10, 2016 (SCI-Expanded)
© 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial.Introduction: Keeping balance of the upright stance is a highly practiced daily task for healthy adults and is effectively performed without overt attentional control in most. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of concurrent cognitive tasks on postural sway in healthy participants. Methods: This was a prospective study. 20 healthy volunteer subjects were included. The cognitive and balance tasks were performed separately and then, concurrently. Postural control task consisted of 6 conditions (C) of the Sensory Organization Test. The cognitive task consisted of digit rehearsal task of varying presentation and varying levels of difficulty. Results: A statistically significant difference was noted between dual task and no task for C1, C2, C3 and C4 Sensory Organization Test scores (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between dual task versus non-task for C5, C6 and combined Sensory Organization Test scores (p > 0.05). Conclusion: During dual task, increase has been determined in postural sway for C1, C2, C3 and C4 for all presentation modes and difficulty levels of the cognitive tasks.