The effect of a concurrent cognitive task on cortical potentials evoked by unpredictable balance perturbations

被引:88
作者
Quant, S
Adkin, AL
Staines, WR
Maki, BE
McIlroy, WE [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Toronto, Inst Med Sci, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
[2] Univ Toronto, Dept Phys Therapy, Toronto, ON, Canada
[3] Brock Univ, Dept Phys Educ & Kinesiol, St Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
[4] York Univ, Dept Kinesiol & Hlth Sci, Toronto, ON M3J 2R7, Canada
[5] Univ Toronto, Dept Med Neurol, Toronto, ON, Canada
[6] Univ Toronto, Dept Surg, Toronto, ON, Canada
[7] Sunnybrook & Womens Coll, Hlth Sci Ctr, Ctr Studies Aging, Toronto, ON, Canada
关键词
D O I
10.1186/1471-2202-5-18
中图分类号
Q189 [神经科学];
学科分类号
071006 ;
摘要
Background: Although previous studies suggest that postural control requires attention and other cognitive resources, the central mechanisms responsible for this relationship remain unclear. To address this issue, we examined the effects of altered attention on cortical activity and postural responses following mechanical perturbations to upright stance. We hypothesized that cortical activity would be attenuated but not delayed when mechanical perturbations were applied during a concurrent performance of a cognitive task (i.e. when attention was directed away from the perturbation). We also hypothesized that these cortical changes would be accompanied by alterations in the postural response, as evidenced by increases in the magnitude of anteroposterior (AP) centre of pressure (COP) peak displacements and tibialis anterior (TA) muscle activity. Healthy young adults (n = 7) were instructed to continuously track (cognitive task) or not track (control task) a randomly moving visual target using a hand-held joystick. During each of these conditions, unpredictable translations of a moving floor evoked cortical and postural responses. Scalp-recorded cortical activity, COP, and TA electromyographic (EMG) measures were collected. Results: Results revealed a significant decrease in the magnitude of early cortical activity (the NI response, the first negative peak after perturbation onset) during the tracking task compared to the control condition. More pronounced AP COP peak displacements and EMG magnitudes were also observed for the tracking task and were possibly related to changes in the NI response. Conclusion: Based on previous notions that the NI response represents sensory processing of the balance disturbance, we suggest that the attenuation of the NI response is an important central mechanism that may provide insight into the relationship between attention and postural control.
引用
收藏
页数:12
相关论文
共 43 条
[1]   MECHANICALLY EVOKED CEREBRAL POTENTIALS AND LONG-LATENCY MUSCLE RESPONSES IN THE EVALUATION OF AFFERENT AND EFFERENT LONG-LOOP PATHWAYS IN HUMANS [J].
ACKERMANN, H ;
DIENER, HC ;
DICHGANS, J .
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS, 1986, 66 (03) :233-238
[2]  
Andersson G, 1998, AM J OTOL, V19, P632
[3]   The influence of a concurrent cognitive task on the compensatory stepping response to a perturbation in balance-impaired and healthy elders [J].
Brauer, SG ;
Woollacott, M ;
Shumway-Cook, A .
GAIT & POSTURE, 2002, 15 (01) :83-93
[4]   Attentional demands and postural recovery: The effects of aging [J].
Brown, LA ;
Shumway-Cook, A ;
Woollacott, MH .
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES, 1999, 54 (04) :M165-M171
[5]   Primary motor cortex influences on the descending and ascending systems [J].
Canedo, A .
PROGRESS IN NEUROBIOLOGY, 1997, 51 (03) :287-335
[6]   Influence of a visuo-spatial, verbal and central executive working memory task on postural control [J].
Dault, MC ;
Frank, JS ;
Allard, F .
GAIT & POSTURE, 2001, 14 (02) :110-116
[7]  
DIETZ V, 1985, EXP BRAIN RES, V57, P348
[8]   CEREBRAL EVOKED-POTENTIALS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPENSATORY REACTIONS FOLLOWING STANCE AND GAIT PERTURBATION [J].
DIETZ, V ;
QUINTERN, J ;
BERGER, W .
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS, 1984, 50 (1-3) :181-186
[9]  
DIETZ V, 1985, EXP BRAIN RES, V61, P153
[10]   Mechanically evoked cerebral potentials to sudden ankle dorsiflexion in human subjects during standing [J].
Dimitrov, B ;
Gavrilenko, T ;
Gatev, P .
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS, 1996, 208 (03) :199-202