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The Influence of Articulation and Generating Random Numbers on Postural Sway

BAKER, AIMEE
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1172777024

Abstract Details

2007, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences : Psychology.
Recent studies have indicated that postural control is not an automatic process; rather, postural control can be affected by the performance of a concurrent cognitive task (see Woollacott & Shumway-Cook, 2002, for a review). However, the literature is inconsistent regarding whether cognitive activity degrades or facilitates postural stability, the type of cognitive task used (e.g., vocalization), and the measures used to index postural sway. The aim of the project was to investigate the influence of a cognitive task (random number generation) on postural sway irrespective of any biomechanical influences of articulation using a dual-task paradigm. Thirty participants were instructed to perform simultaneously a posture task (standing upright) and a secondary task for which they were asked to either generate numbers randomly within a specified range at a given pace or to read corresponding numbers. Results revealed that some measures of postural sway may be differentially sensitive to cognitive demand while other measures appear to be influenced similarly by articulation and by cognitive demand. With an added cognitive demand, sway variability decreased, and nonlinear measures of postural sway found postural sway to be less auto-correlated and more random. These influences were not observed under speaking pace manipulations in speaking only conditions. These results suggest that certain measures of postural sway may be sensitive to cognitive influences, but not to influences of articulation.
Dr. Kevin Shockley (Advisor)
69 p.
Psychology, Experimental

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Citations

  • BAKER, A. (2007). The Influence of Articulation and Generating Random Numbers on Postural Sway [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1172777024

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • BAKER, AIMEE. The Influence of Articulation and Generating Random Numbers on Postural Sway. 2007. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1172777024.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • BAKER, AIMEE. "The Influence of Articulation and Generating Random Numbers on Postural Sway." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1172777024

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1172777024
396
© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.