Article

Postural threat, manipulated through changes in surface height, influences
postural control. Evidence suggests changes in attention may contribute to this
relationship. However, limited research has explored where and how attention is
reallocated when threatened. The primary aim of this study was to describe
changes in attention when presented with a postural threat, while a secondary aim
was to explore associations between changes in attention and postural control.
Eighty-two healthy young adults completed tests of static
(quiet standing) and
anticipatory (rise to toes) postural control under threatening and
non-threatening conditions. Participants completed an open-ended questionnaire
after each postural task which asked them to list what they thought about or
directed their attention toward. Each item listed was assigned a percentage value
reflecting how much attention it occupied. Exit interviews were completed to help
confirm where attention was directed. Five attention categories were identified:
movement processes, threat-relevant stimuli, self-regulatory strategies, task
objectives, and task-irrelevant information. For both postural tasks, the
percentage values and number of items listed for movement processes,
threat-relevant stimuli, and self-regulatory strategies increased under
threatening compared to non-threatening conditions, while the percentage values
and number of items listed for task objectives and task-irrelevant information
decreased. Changes in attention related to movement processes and self-regulatory
strategies were associated with changes in static postural control, while changes
in attention related to threat-relevant stimuli were associated with changes in
anticipatory postural control. These results suggest that threat-induced changes
in attention are multidimensional and contribute to changes in postural control.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS