Effects of Cognitive Load on Postural Sway and Pupillary Response
Presenter Type
UNO Graduate Student (Masters)
Major/Field of Study
Biomechanics
Advisor Information
Assistant Professor
Location
CEC RM #201/205/209
Presentation Type
Poster
Poster Size
36x48
Start Date
22-3-2024 10:30 AM
End Date
22-3-2024 11:45 AM
Abstract
Postural control allows the body to maintain balance and has traditionally been considered an automatic task. However, research suggests that cognition plays a role in postural control. Simultaneous performance of both a cognitive and postural task results in dual-task interference and leads to performance deficits due to capacity limits. Changes in pupil diameter have been shown to be a measure of cognitive load. The aim of this study is to determine changes in postural sway and pupil diameter while conducting a cognitive task with increasing levels of task difficulty. We hypothesize that as cognitive load is increased, we will observe an increase in both pupil diameter and postural sway. Healthy subjects aged 45-90 years old who are free of neurological disorders and orthopedic problems will participate in this study. Seated and standing trials will be performed both with and without a cognitive task. The cognitive task that we will use is an N-back test. This test is a letter sequencing test in which the participant must determine if the current letter matches the letter “N” items ago. N-back tests with increasing difficulty levels (1-back and 2-back, respectively) will be performed. A wearable sensor attached to the lumbar region will be used to measure postural sway during the standing postural sway trials. Further, measurement of the pupillary response via eye-tracking glasses will be used to gain insight into cognitive load as the pupil diameter increases with cognitive demand. Preliminary analysis of 13 individuals reveals increases in pupil diameter with increasing task difficulty. Notably, postural sway did not consistently increase with increasing cognitive load and task difficulty in all subjects. Finally, we observed pupil diameter to be increased with greater postural sway, which confirms our initial hypothesis.
Effects of Cognitive Load on Postural Sway and Pupillary Response
CEC RM #201/205/209
Postural control allows the body to maintain balance and has traditionally been considered an automatic task. However, research suggests that cognition plays a role in postural control. Simultaneous performance of both a cognitive and postural task results in dual-task interference and leads to performance deficits due to capacity limits. Changes in pupil diameter have been shown to be a measure of cognitive load. The aim of this study is to determine changes in postural sway and pupil diameter while conducting a cognitive task with increasing levels of task difficulty. We hypothesize that as cognitive load is increased, we will observe an increase in both pupil diameter and postural sway. Healthy subjects aged 45-90 years old who are free of neurological disorders and orthopedic problems will participate in this study. Seated and standing trials will be performed both with and without a cognitive task. The cognitive task that we will use is an N-back test. This test is a letter sequencing test in which the participant must determine if the current letter matches the letter “N” items ago. N-back tests with increasing difficulty levels (1-back and 2-back, respectively) will be performed. A wearable sensor attached to the lumbar region will be used to measure postural sway during the standing postural sway trials. Further, measurement of the pupillary response via eye-tracking glasses will be used to gain insight into cognitive load as the pupil diameter increases with cognitive demand. Preliminary analysis of 13 individuals reveals increases in pupil diameter with increasing task difficulty. Notably, postural sway did not consistently increase with increasing cognitive load and task difficulty in all subjects. Finally, we observed pupil diameter to be increased with greater postural sway, which confirms our initial hypothesis.