Effect of dual-task interaction combining postural and visual perturbations on cortical activity and postural control ability

Different Dual-Task Paradigm Reduce Postural Control Ability and Dynamic Stability of Healthy Young Adults during Stair Descent

Objective

This study aimed to compare the impacts of different dual-task paradigms on the postural control ability and dynamic stability of the youth during stair descent.

Method

Twenty young adults without regular exercise habits were randomly recruited to perform stair descent tasks with three different paradigms: single-task, cognitive dual-task, and manual dual-task. Kinematic and dynamic data were collected using an 8 Vicon motion analysis system and a Kistler force plate to evaluate postural control ability and dynamic stability during stair descent.

Results

The variation trends of lower limb joint moment were similar under the three task models. Compared with a single-task, both dual-task paradigms significantly reduced the mechanical parameters and dynamic stability during stair descent.

Conclusion

The dual-task paradigm increases the risk of stair-related falls. Both cognitive and manual tasks have similar impacts on postural control ability and dynamic stability during stair walking. It is recommended that people avoid performing dual tasks during stair descent.

Being in Virtual Reality and Its Influence on Brain Health-An Overview of Benefits, Limitations and Prospects

BACKGROUND

Dynamic technological development and its enormous impact on modern societies are posing new challenges for 21st-century neuroscience. A special place is occupied by technologies based on virtual reality (VR). VR tools have already played a significant role in both basic and clinical neuroscience due to their high accuracy, sensitivity and specificity and, above all, high ecological value.

OBJECTIVE

Being in a digital world affects the functioning of the body as a whole and its individual systems. The data obtained so far, both from experimental and modeling studies, as well as (clinical) observations, indicate their great and promising potential, but apart from the benefits, there are also losses and negative consequences for users.

METHODS

This review was conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework across electronic databases (such as Web of Science Core Collection; PubMed; and Scopus, Taylor & Francis Online and Wiley Online Library) to identify beneficial effects and applications, as well as adverse impacts, especially on brain health in human neuroscience.

RESULTS

More than half of these articles were published within the last five years and represent state-of-the-art approaches and results (e.g., 54.7% in Web of Sciences and 63.4% in PubMed), with review papers accounting for approximately 16%. The results show that in addition to proposed novel devices and systems, various methods or procedures for testing, validation and standardization are presented (about 1% of articles). Also included are virtual developers and experts, (bio)(neuro)informatics specialists, neuroscientists and medical professionals.

CONCLUSIONS

VR environments allow for expanding the field of research on perception and cognitive and motor imagery, both in healthy and patient populations. In this context, research on neuroplasticity phenomena, including mirror neuron networks and the effects of applied virtual (mirror) tasks and training, is of interest in virtual prevention and neurogeriatrics, especially in neurotherapy and neurorehabilitation in basic/clinical and digital neuroscience.