Characterizing Brain Activation and Postural Response During Concurrent Cognitive Tasks in the Presence of Optic Flow Stimulation: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
Chia-Cheng Lin, PhD, PT, MSPT
Summary
The purpose of this study is to investigate brain activity during current visual and auditory tasks for balance control. The participants will perform cognitive, gait, and balance measures before the data collection to exclude people with neurological disorders. The participants will wear VR headset which provides visual tasks. The participants will need to maintain balance while performing concurrent visual and auditory tasks. The brain activities, reaction time, and eye-tracking data will be collected during doing our experimental tasks.
Description
Virtual reality (VR), defined as an interactive system including computers and media peripherals, creates an environment similar to a real-world and also provides audio and video feedback to users. Recently, the virtual reality technology is able to make a headset displaying 360 degrees VR environment and locate the headset in the space. This improvement of VR technology significantly reduces the cost of VR equipment and enhances the application of VR technology in the field of balance assessment and treatment. Optic flow (OF) has been used to study the effect of visual input on balance contr…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 25–85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * must not have any vestibular, orthopedic or neurological disorders, knee or hip replacements, reports of dizziness, low visual acuity (corrective vision less than 20/40) or require the use of an assistive device for ambulation. * Right-handed Exclusion Criteria: * Healthy group: have a low fall risk profile based on current available clinical balance and gait assessment tools, such as the MiniBEST and STEADI fall risk self-assessment tool and normal cognitive status using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA \> 26/30) * Fall risk group: other medical issues rather t…
Interventions
- OtherOptic Flow Stimulation
The optic flow will be displayed at different speeds. The subject will need to look at the center of the optic flow.
- OtherAuditory Reaction Time
Two different pitches of tones will be played. The participants will need to press a button on the right or left hand based on the pitch of the tone.
Location
- East Carolina UniversityGreenville, North Carolina