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The effect of a perceptual cognitive task on exercise performance: the dual-task condition after brain injury
Helen Dawes1, Janet Cockburn, N K Roach
1School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University and Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, Oxford, UK. hdawes@brookes.ac.uk
Objective:
To examine the effect of additional cognitive demand on cycling performance in individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI).
Design:
Prospective observational study.
Setting:
Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre.
Participants:
Ten individuals with ABI (7 men, 3 women) (traumatic brain injury 7, tumour 1, stroke 2) and 10 healthy controls (6 men, 4 women).
Intervention:
Individuals were asked to maintain a set cadence during a three-stage incremental cycling test in both single-task (no additional task) and dual-task (whilst performing an additional cognitive task) conditions.
Results:
The ABI group showed a slight slowing in cadence in stages 1 and 3 of the graded exercise test from the single- to the dual-task condition, although this was not significant (p < or = 0.05). The control group showed no slowing of cadence at any incremental stage. When directly comparing the ABI with the control group, the change in cadence observed in dual-task conditions was only significantly different in stage 3 (p < or = 0.05).
Conclusions:
Clinicians should be aware of the possibility that giving additional cognitive tasks (such as monitoring exercise intensity) while individuals with acquired brain injury are performing exercises may detrimentally affect performance. The effect may be more marked when the individuals are performing exercise at higher intensities.