Article

In order to evaluate the effect of an auditory-memory
attention-demanding task on balance control, nine blind adults were compared to
nine age-gender-matched sighted controls. This issue is particularly relevant for
the blind population in which functional assessment of postural control has to be
revealed through "real life" motor and cognitive function. The study aimed to
explore whether an auditory-memory attention-demanding cognitive task would
influence postural control in blind persons and compare this with blindfolded
sighted persons. METHODS: Subjects were instructed to minimize body sway during
narrow base upright standing on a single force platform under two conditions: 1)
standing still (single task); 2) as in 1) while performing an auditory-memory
attention-demanding cognitive task (dual task). Subjects in both groups were
required to stand blindfolded with their eyes closed. Center of Pressure
displacement data were collected and analyzed using summary statistics and
stabilogram-diffusion analysis. FINDINGS: Blind and sighted subjects had similar
postural sway in eyes closed condition. However, for dual compared to single
task, sighted subjects show significant decrease in postural sway while blind
subjects did not. INTERPRETATION: The auditory-memory attention-demanding
cognitive task had no interference effect on balance control on blind subjects.
It seems that sighted individuals used auditory cues to compensate for momentary
loss of vision, whereas blind subjects did not. This may suggest that blind and
sighted people use different sensorimotor strategies to achieve stability.
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Langue : ANGLAIS