The effect of mental calculation on stabilization of posture in a dynamic virtual environment

Author

Elion, O. ; Keshner, Emily A.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys. Therapy, Temple Univ., Philadelphia, PA, USA

fYear

2013

fDate

26-29 Aug. 2013

Firstpage

202

Lastpage

203

Abstract

We explored the trade-off between simultaneous demands of attention to a mental calculation task, visual motion, and postural stabilization. Six healthy adults (23 ± 0.97 yrs) performed a balance task and a secondary calculation task in a stationary or translating immersive virtual reality environment. Coupling of visual and base of support motion produced the greatest postural destabilization. Addition of the calculation task appeared to diminish rather than magnify postural instability. Thus, the effect of cognitive load and attention on balance may depend upon the characteristics of the particular cognitive task.

Keywords

cognition; virtual reality; visual perception; balance task; cognitive load; cognitive task; dynamic virtual environment; immersive virtual reality environment; mental calculation task; postural destabilization; postural instability; postural stabilization; posture stabilization; visual motion; Complexity theory; Educational institutions; Entropy; Force; Virtual environments; Visualization; approximate entropy; dual task; multisensory integration; sensory mismatch;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Virtual Rehabilitation (ICVR), 2013 International Conference on

Conference_Location

Philadelphia, PA

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICVR.2013.6662106

Filename

6662106