Neuroimaging of an attention demanding dual-task during dynamic postural control.
Andrea L Rosso, Massimo Cenciarini, Patrick J Sparto and 3 others
PMID 28662465WHAT IT FOUND
When standing on a moving platform while listening for tones, brain activation fell below what the two tasks alone predicted in both age groups.
The drop was larger for balance than for listening.
Key findings
01After adjusting for each group's own single-task response, the brain oxygenation signal was 53% lower during the combined task than the sum of the separate-task responses in both age groups.
02The reduction from single-task to dual-task was larger for the balance component than for the listening component in both age groups.
03Older adults had a larger absolute brain response than younger adults, but the proportional dual-task reduction was similar between age groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only Ten older and six younger adults took part, and the groups were not balanced by sex, so the results may not reflect a typical clinic population. The brain imaging method could only measure the left side of the brain near the surface, so it could not assess deeper structures or right-side activity. Age-related brain shrinkage may have reduced signal strength in older adults, possibly making differences between age groups harder to detect. Participants were screened for balance and neurologic abnormalities, so this was not a study of patients with balance disorders. The study measured brain signals during laboratory tasks and did not test a treatment or a clinical balance outcome.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that dual-task balance training improves outcomes. The study measured brain signals during laboratory tasks in screened adults and did not test a treatment or a clinical balance outcome.