Adjustments of balance control during cognitive dual tasking: Evidence from event-related force-plate analysis

Koger, Anton; Johannsen, L.; Kiesel, Andrea; Müller, Hermann; Stephan, Denise N.; Straub, Elisa; Koch, Iring · 2025 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1007/s00426-025-02215-z

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Summary

This study investigates how cognitive-motor interference affects balance control during upright standing, specifically examining whether a functional processing bottleneck in cognitive tasks alters postural adjustments. While previous research established that response conflicts (e.g., in the Simon task) can suppress balance adjustments, this work extends the inquiry to memory consolidation processes. The authors aimed to determine if the cognitive demands of a dual-task paradigm, which creates a bottleneck during short-term memory consolidation, would similarly influence the timing and magnitude of balance control impulses. The researchers employed a hybrid psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm involving two experiments with 48 participants each. Participants stood quietly on a force plate while performing a visual-vocal short-term memory task (requiring delayed vocal reporting of object orientation) and an auditory-manual reaction time (RT) task. Experiment 1 manipulated the stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between the visual and auditory targets (100 ms vs. 1,000 ms) to induce varying levels of cognitive interference. Experiment 2 added a task-load manipulation, requiring participants to either report or ignore the visual object, to test for task-set inertia. Balance control was quantified as moment variability (torque) using 100 ms sliding windows, analyzed via cluster permutation analysis to identify time-specific effects relative to trial events. The results confirmed expected cognitive interference: auditory-manual RTs increased significantly at short SOAs, and this interference persisted even in "ignore" trials, consistent with task-set inertia. Crucially, the force-plate analysis revealed that participants were less likely to adjust their balance during the processing of cognitive tasks and more likely to do so after task completion. This pattern held true regardless of the presence of a cognitive bottleneck (i.e., it occurred in both short and long SOA conditions, and in both report and ignore trials). The data indicate that balance adjustments are not merely suppressed by resource competition but are flexibly delayed or advanced based on cognitive demands. These findings suggest that the motor control system actively modulates balance adjustments to minimize cognitive-motor interference, prioritizing cognitive processing over continuous postural regulation during periods of high mental demand. This flexible adjustment mechanism implies that balance control is not a rigid, continuous closed-loop process but can be interrupted or shifted in time to accommodate cognitive bottlenecks. The study provides evidence that cognitive processes directly influence stability during standing, offering insights into the mechanisms linking cognition and motor control. This understanding may inform future research on how such interactions change with age or cognitive impairment, potentially explaining increased fall risks in populations with reduced cognitive capacity.

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• dual task performance