Attentional Demands of Balance under Dual Task Conditions in

Objectives: the aim of this study was to identify the role of intentional process in postural control usingchoice reaction time task while changing the visual and proprioceptive cues under a difficult balance task(standing on one-leg).methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 young people (22.75±2.29). each subjectperformed one-leg standing as a balance task for each of the following 2 test conditions: free balanceposition (single task), and balancing while performing a secondary cognitive task (choice reaction timetask). each test was carried out for each of the following 3 sensory conditions: on a hard surface withopen eyes, on a hard surface with closed eyes and on a foam surface with closed eyes. one-way anovawas used for analysis.results: analyses of the task conditions didn’t show significant differences between single and dual taskunder two sensory conditions in open and in closed eyes on a hard surface (p > 0.05). however, there wasa significant difference between single and dual tasks on a soft foam with closed eyes [t (19)=-2.391,p=0.027].conclusions: findings revealed significant differences in the balance performance of individuals underthree different sensory conditions caused by reduction in base of support. this effect can be seen in dualtask conditions as well. therefore it can be concluded that the nature of the primary task has the mostinfluence on balance performance and it is not the effect of the dual task condition.